India is likely to resist any move to change Pakistan as the venue for Champions Trophy amidst fears that top players from non-Asian countries pulling out. The Indian board sees "no harm" in Pakistan hosting the tournament in September, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said on Wednesday. "We are supporting Pakistan as the venue of the Champions Trophy," Shah said. "Our Indian team had taken part in the Asia Cup without any incident. Besides, the report of the ICC`s security consultants, which was presented during the briefing in Dubai was positive. So the BCCI sees no harm in Pakistan hosting the tournament."
Besides the Asian bloc, Pakistan also got words of support from Cricket South Africa. "We must give Pakistan every opportunity to host the tournament to the best of their ability," Norman Arendse, the president of Cricket South Africa (CSA) told Independent Online. "I`m inclined to support Pakistan`s hosting of the tournament. I know it might sound easy for us as administrators to make such decisions as we stay home while the players go to Pakistan, but I assure you it is not so."
However, the chief executive of the South Africa Cricketers` Association, Tony Irish, said that there was a possibility of top players from his country pulling out of the tournament if it went ahead as scheduled in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the BCCI president-elect, Shashank Manohar, will be attending the tele-conference conducted by the International Cricket Conference (ICC) to decide about the venue for the forthcoming Champions Trophy.
Manohar said that Sharad Pawar has become a vice-president of the ICC and therefore cannot attend the tele-conference as a director. "My name has been sent by the BCCI secretary and I will be on tele-conference with ICC`s other board members," confirmed Manohar from Nagpur.
The ICC will take a final decision which, if it cannot be reached via consensus, needs a 7-3 vote.
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