Brian Lara turns down offer to play T20s in Pakistan ? Cricket News Update
Legendary West Indies batsman Brain Lara confirmed that while he had been approached with an offer (reported to be worth around $1.5 million) to play two unofficial Twenty20 matches for an International XI ? an initiative to revive international cricket in Pakistan ? he turned it down as he felt his participation would send out the wrong message.
?Yes, an offer was made to me,? Lara confirmed in conversation with the Trinidad Guardian. ?Until such time as the governing body in Pakistan [PCB] is able to convince the rest of the world that the best safety mechanisms have been put in place, and the ICC agrees, I would have to say no.?
An International XI will be taking on a Pakistan All Stars XI for two T20s at the National Stadium in Karachi on October 20 and 21, marking the first cricketing event involving foreign players to be staged in the country since 2009.
However, the event is an unofficial one ? while the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) gave No Objection Certificates to its players to allow them to participate in the event, and permitted to usage of the venue, the board was quick to disassociate itself from the event, which it clarified was unofficial and unsanctioned.
Despite the PCB?s rigorous attempts to bring international cricket back to Pakistan, after the country was declared a no-go zone for foreign teams, following the terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan team in March 2009, the board has had nothing to do with the recent event. Instead, the organisation of the unofficial series, including the security and logistic arrangements, as well as the broadcasting deal, was undertaken entirely by Sindh sports minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, with the support of the local Karachi government.
The Pakistan All Stars XI will be led by Shahid Afridi, while the International XI is coached and managed by former Windies player Alvin Kallicharran, and captained by former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya. The International XI includes, among others, West Indies? Ricardo Powell, Jermaine Lawson and Adam Sanford, Afghanistan?s Shapoor Zadran and Mohammad Shahzad, and South Africa?s Andre Nel and Nantie Hayward.
The event marks a small step in the efforts to convince foreign teams that Pakistan is a safe country to tour ? however, the lack of backing from the PCB and ICC is likely to dent its credibility, and thus its effectiveness.
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