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Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh said Team India should not travel across the border to Pakistan for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy as the security situation in the neighbouring country is still volatile. The veteran bowler also backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decision to seek the government’s approval for the visit before confirming their participation in the tournament. The Indian board has refrained from commenting on the issue and said the country’s government will decide whether to travel to Pakistan. “Why should the Indian team go to Pakistan? There is a safety concern in Pakistan. The situation in Pakistan is such that incidents occur almost every day. I don’t think it’s safe (for the team) to go there. The stance of the BCCI is absolutely correct and nothing is more important than the safety of our players. I support BCCI’s stand,” Harbhajan told IANS on Thursday.
However, Pakistan have maintained that it would ensure that India’s all matches will be hosted in Lahore and the Indian team would stay in the same hotel throughout the tournament. It also stated that being in one city would make it easier to provide foolproof security to the visiting side.
Moreover, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced that it had acquired land adjacent to the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore to construct a 5-star hotel. Sources revealed that PCB plans to construct the hotel itself and wants to complete the construction by early next year.
PCB sources stated that the newly constructed 5-star hotel would eliminate the need for teams to stay in distant hotels, thereby ending road closures for security.
The Indian cricket team had refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup last year, which led to India’s matches being held in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan and India have not played any bilateral series since 2012 with the Indian government limiting the cricket encounters with Pakistan to ICC or ACC events.
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