Amid reports that Pakistan's participation in the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India was all but certain, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told Sputnik India on Friday that the government was yet to decide on the matter.
"The government is yet to make a decision on the team's participation in India," Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi, the media manager of the Pakistan cricket team, told Sputnik.
Nagi's comments come hours after multiple Pakistani media outlets reported that a committee, set up by the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, linked their team's involvement in the Cricket World Cup to assurances of security for cricketers.
Pakistan Cricket Board Seeks 'Security Guarantees' From ICC
As per reports, the high-powered committee has communicated to the Pakistan premier that captain Babar Azam and his boys should take part in the top cricket competition if the International Cricket Council (ICC) guarantees round-the-clock security to Pakistan's cricketers.
Apparently, the development, came after the committee held a meeting chaired by Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari with PCB chief Zaka Ashraf in attendance.
Hybrid Model Proposal Could Embarrass Pakistan
The committee also deliberated on the aspect of proposing a hybrid model for the Cricket World Cup, wherein the Pakistani team would play all their matches outside India.
But the proposal did not find much support among members of the committee, given the high percentage of the plan's rejection by the ICC.
Besides, the committee members opined that such a move could alienate Pakistan within the cricketing fraternity, considering it would be seen as creating hiccups in the successful conduct of the sport's premier tournament.
Why Babar Azam and His Boys Will Not Stay Away From World Cup
Overall, almost all the participants in the meeting suggested that the Pakistani side was heading to India to feature in Cricket World Cup.
"Let's accept the fact that it won't make any major difference to India if we stay away from the Cricket World Cup. We need to take a more pragmatic view," a member of the committee was quoted as saying by a Pakistani newspaper.
Another concern that was reportedly discussed in the meeting was Pakistan's Cricket World Cup game against India.
Ahmedabad falls in India's Gujarat state which witnessed the 2002 communal riots.
Against this context, Pakistan has reportedly informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the organizers of the Cricket World Cup, that they are concerned about the security of their players in Gujarat state.
The BCCI, however, hasn't paid heed to these objections, and not tinkered with the location of the game.