Although Pakistan has been optimistic it would overcome security concerns, persistent violence in the country has dashed hopes of staging international matches in the near future. The International Cricket Council (ICC) removed Pakistan on Friday as a co-host of the 2011 World Cup, leaving the future of the game in the country bleak. Co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will go ahead with preparations for staging the premier one-day tournament. Security issues Although the sub-continent is seen as the spiritual home for the game, most international teams have shunned Pakistan for almost two years due to a spate of bomb attacks. Last month's ambush on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore by gunmen as the players were being driven to the stadium to resume play in the second test killed hopes sport would not be a target. At least seven Pakistanis were killed and six Sri Lankan players were injured. The security came in for heavy criticism from the match officials, who had a narrow escape, virtually ending Pakistan's hopes of staging the World Cup. International teams are now jittery about travelling to the region. The ICC board has asked its anti-corruption unit head to lead a taskforce that will conduct a comprehensive review of security arrangements for all international cricket. Pakistan players and officials have already raised fears a lack of international cricket could destroy talent and even lead youngsters into militancy. India, expected to stage most of the 16 games Pakistan would have hosted, has also been jittery after a three-day raid by militants killed 166 people in the country's financial hub Mumbai in November. Pakistan went through 2008 without playing a single home test match because teams refused to travel due to safety fears. Sri Lanka had stepped in after India cancelled a bilateral tour due to political tensions in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has grappled with security worries, which forced it to play a test series in 2002 against Australia in Sri Lanka and Sharjah. It plays a one-day series against Australia next week in Dubai. ‘Hasty decision' The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was shocked with its chief operating office Salim Altaf dubbing the ICC decision ‘hasty'. “It's disappointing to lose the hosting rights of the World Cup,” PCB chief operating officer Salim Altaf was quoted as saying by the Urdu-language daily Express. Altaf said further details of the decision would be available once PCB chairman Ijaz Butt returns from the International Cricket Council's board meeting in Dubai. Former test batsman and national coach Javed Miandad, who was named PCB director general earlier this month, said the ICC should have had waited before making a decision. “I am deeply hurt by this decision because it's still two years to go in the World Cup,” Miandad said. “I think the ICC should have waited for some time before deciding to remove Pakistan as co-host.” About 100 protesters in the southern city of Karachi burnt cricket bats and chanted slogans, blaming India as being behind the ICC's decision. The protesters demanded that the ICC reverse its decision and asked former test cricketers like Miandad, Imran Khan and Zaheer Abbas to also protest throughout Pakistan. “We are being deprived of watching international cricket,” said protester Usman Moazzam. “It's an absolute injustice.” Other former Pakistan test cricketers blamed poor lobbying, homework and planning by the PCB ahead of the ICC meeting. “They (PCB) should have drummed up support of local stars and reacted proactively, but I think they made a casual attempt to safeguard the World Cup in Pakistan,” said former test captain Ramiz Raja, who is now a commentator. The ICC not only removed Pakistan as one of the four World Cup hosts, it also signaled a warning that international cricket might not return to Pakistan for several years. “It's hugely doubtful that Pakistan will stage any international cricket at home before 2011,” ICC chairman David Morgan said Friday after the World Cup decision. The Asia Cup was the only major cricket event hosted in Pakistan last year, and the security fears of foreign teams did not allow for a single test at home. Moin Khan, another former test captain and wicketkeeper, feared Pakistan is being left alone, even in the Asian bloc, which includes the other three World Cup hosts – India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. “The ICC took this decision in haste, they could have waited for six to seven months,” Khan said. “Look at the other three hosts. Is the security situation ideal in the rest of the three countries?”
