Through a few dramatic developments over the past week, India has emerged almost a winner in the race for hosting 2011 World Cup Cricket. After smashing Pakistan’s big hopes for hosting World Cup Cricket now the ICC has decided to shift the 2011 World Cup Secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai. According to the original plan, Pakistan was to host 14 matches, including a semifinal at Lahore. Now India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are to be allotted the matches with India going to grab the biggest share of those 14 matches.  

In a blow to PCB, BCCI is hosting a meeting in its multi-storied office at Church Gate in Mumbai on Tuesday. Here the World Cup Organizing Committee will be given a new shape which will not feature any representative from PCB. The country has already been stripped off its co-host status on 18th of this month, due to the political tensions that are ripping apart the country. And to add salt to injury, the PCB is most likely to lose out on the Tournament’s Central Organizing Secretariat, which currently is located at Lahore.

With constant changes taking place in interim committees in Sri Lanka Cricket, the island country has been ruled out as the possible place for housing the Secretariat. So India remains as the logical solution for being the nerve center of all operations relating to organizing the next World Cup. In addition of restructuring the Central Organizing Committee, it will also discuss the issues relating to appointment of an Event Managing Director, Event Operations Director, and also the rescheduling of the World Cup matches. Haroon Lorgat, CEO, ICC is scheduled to address a press conference after the meeting is over.

As a matter of fact, Salman Sarward Butt, whom PCB had appointed as the managing director of the Tournament’s Central Organizing Secretariat, is going to be dropped after Haroon Lorgat announces a new set up after Tuesday's meeting. However, possibilities of tensions can not be altogether ruled out and Organizing Committees will be in trouble if Pakistan refuses to play its matches in Indian venues because of political tensions between the two countries. “In that case, Pakistan's matches will have to held in Lanka or Bangladesh but there's two years to go and it's too early to comment on that now,” conformed the internal sources.

However, quite naturally, the developments did not go well with the men in Pakistan. Miandad, the director general of the Pakistan Cricket Board, says that ICC’s decision of stripping Pakistan of its hosting right of 2011 event while giving the rights for the same to other three South Asian countries lack fairness and logic. The former Pakistan Cricket captain however insists that Pakistan should still be allowed to “host” its share of World Cup matches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai; just the same way it is hosting Australia in a one-day series in these two places. He also thinks that political situation in India is as chaotic as Pakistan and so the ICC should consider taking this all important upcoming cricket event away from the sub continent altogether.

Only a few hours’ wait is left to see whether the bigwigs in ICC subscribe to the same views of Pakistan’s former cricket captain. 

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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