PCB gears up to showcase Pakistan as safe venue

Pakistan Cricket Board is bracing itself for two weeks of hectic activity which would give it a chance to show that despite previous security concerns the country is safe for hosting major international tournaments.

Pakistan will host the Asia Cup for the first time from June 24 to July 6 and has invited senior delegates of some 22 countries to attend special ceremonies including a seminar on cricket and the silver jubilee celebrations of the Asian Cricket Council here.

Karachi will also host the Castrol Annual Cricket Awards either on June 27 or 28, which senior players including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are expected to attend.

The trio, however, is not in the Indian squad for the Asia Cup due to different reasons.

Before the Asia Cup, the ICC will also launch the 2008 Champions Trophy with the logo unveiling ceremony on June 18 in Lahore with ICC`s acting chief executive Dave Richardson holding a press conference in the city. Pakistan will host the champions trophy from September 11 in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi and the PCB would be keeping its fingers crossed that it does not have to shift the matches from Rawalpindi to some other venue as construction work at the stadium there is stated to be progressing slowly.

An ICC delegation would also visit Rawalpindi to see how the construction work is progressing and if the venue would meet the tournament deadline.

"It is after a long time that Pakistan is playing host to such high profile international cricket events and we are leaving no stone unturned to use these opportunities to project ourselves and the country in a positive and friendly manner," a senior official of the board told reporters.

"We will have the cream of the ICC and Asian Cricket Council members in Pakistan for both events and we want to ensure everything goes smoothly," he added.

Not surprisingly the board has been in constant touch with the interior ministry and police and security agencies to have state level security arrangements for all the events including the matches of the Asia Cup.

While the Sri Lankans and Bangladesh teams would arrive in Lahore for the tournament, India reaches Karachi on the June 22.