Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Saturday formed a high-profile committee for the decision regarding the participation of the Pakistan cricket team in the ODI World Cup. The committee will be headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto.
The political dispute between India and Pakistan has clouded cricket once again. The two countries have played each other only in multi-team events at neutral venues over the last decade and doubts remain over Pakistan’s involvement in the World Cup in October-November.
A statement on Saturday said the committee will formulate recommendations on whether Pakistan will participate in the ICC World Cup or not.
It will also offer recommendations on all other matters related to the World Cup in India and send it to the Prime Minister who is the Patron-in-Chief of PCB.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has made the national team’s participation in the World Cup subject to government permission.
The committee under Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, includes federal ministers Rana Sanaullah, Azam Nazir Tarar, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Ehsan Mazari, Asad Mahmood and Aminul Haq.
Qamar Zaman Kaira and Tariq Fatemi will also be part of the committee.
The heads of national security agencies and the foreign secretary have also been included on this high-profile committee.
Sources say that the final decision will be taken after the recommendation regarding the participation of the Pakistani team is made whether to play in this big event or not.
It should be noted that Cricket World Cup is starting on October 5 in India. The first match between Pakistan and India is scheduled on October 15 in Ahmedabad.
“I am thinking that we are going to play the World Cup – not just against India,” skipper Babar Azam told a news conference on July 6. “We are not focusing on one team. There are nine other teams, so only if we beat them will we reach the final.”
The new Ahmedabad Stadium will likely prove to be a boiling cauldron for a Pakistan-India clash, one of the highlights of the tournament that starts October 5.
The International Cricket Council rejected Pakistan’s objections to the venue while announcing the World Cup schedule last month.
