Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan: ICC

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday said it could drop the Rawalpindi as one of the three venues for Champions Trophy.

Eliminating Rawalpindi would leave all the trophy matches to be played in Karachi and Lahore.

"It is a strong possibility that we will reduce the Champions Trophy to two venues but the event will be played in Pakistan," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said during a visit to Rawalpindi Stadium.

Lorgat is leading a high-profile six-man ICC task force which is here to oversee security arrangements for the trophy amid threats of a boycott by some non-Asian teams.

The delegation also includes Tim May, a former Australian off-spinner who is now the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA).

The ICC last month decided to keep the biennial event in Pakistan despite security concerns raised by players from Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa.

The players associations of these countries and FICA had called for a relocation of the trophy over player safety following a series of suicide bombings in Pakistan.

Local media reports said Rawalpindi stadium, where renovation work is well behind schedule, may be dropped.

Lorgat said security could not be assessed at Rawalpindi as it did not host any matches in the recent Asia Cup.

"During the Asia Cup there were no fixtures at Rawalpindi and that didn't provide us an opportunity to check the security arrangements, so there was no way we can formulate an opinion on Rawalpindi," Lorgat said.

"We are trying to explore whether we might use only Lahore and Karachi and take a decision soon."

The taskforce also met security officials, including senior interior ministry officials.

"It was a very constructive meeting, very informative. The attitude and willingness of the Pakistan government officials to implement security measures was very positive," Lorgat said.

"We all shared the same concerns. We have to ensure the safety of the players, the media, and the concerns were all common."