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Dubai: "The Champions Trophy will definitely be held in Pakistan," assured Shafqat Naghmi, the Chief Operating Officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board to Gulf News.
"Everything is going in the right direction. We need to put less effort than six months back with regard to our security. The International Cricket Council (ICC) security team will be giving a presentation before the board. In fact, we were going to give ICC this suggestion to convince the other nations," added Naghmi.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also backed Pakistan's claim of the venue being safe to host the event. Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, after attending the ICC chief executive meeting, said: "We are not seeing any problem in Pakistan staging the champions trophy.
"The ongoing Asia Cup, as we have all seen, is going on very smoothly. I don't think there should be any problem."
Willing
Sri Lanka has agreed to host the event in case of Pakistan being unable to host it. Duleep Mendis, the Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive, when contacted said: "Sri Lanka is ready to host champions trophy only if Pakistan is not willing. We have already expressed our willingness," he said.
First choice
When asked whether the Trophy could be shifted to Sri Lanka, Naghmi said: "The security situation is not very different between the two countries.
Moreover it will be very difficult to stage the event anywhere else within such a short span.
According to information, South Africa has also been put on standby as a possible venue though Pakistan remains as the first choice.
It is understood that the ICC has engaged a South African security consultant company Nicholls Steyn and Associates to oversee the security assessment. They have also asked for reports from security experts Reg Dickason, who has been recruited by Cricket Australia, New Zealand Cricket and England and Wales Cricket Board.
Three security experts Faisul Nagel, Bruce Spargo and Steve Stephenson is said to be overseeing the security arrangements.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was quoted in Australian newspapers as saying: "We don't know if we're going, and if we do go, we don't know if individuals are going to pull out."
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