ICC has not refused to appoint match officials: PCB official

Lahore: The ICC has not yet initiated any move to appoint match officials for the planned tour by the Bangladesh cricket team to Pakistan next month.

A senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board however, told said on Monday that a wrong impression had been created that the ICC had refused to appoint match officials for the series because of security concerns. "The factual position is that the ICC can only start any move to appoint match officials once the series, its matches, dates and venues are confirmed by both boards for the bilateral series," the official said. He pointed out that once both boards agreed to the series and announced its itinerary only than will the ICC be able to decide whether it can send its match officials for the series. "The ICC has made it clear that it has allowed special dispensation to the PCB to appoint non-neutral officials for the series if it is unable to convince its officials to go to Pakistan for the series," the PCB official said. The official said that once the series is confirmed the ICC will than also carry out its own independent security assessment for sending its officials to Pakistan. "So at present the position is that ICC has yet to decide on whether it can send its officials for the series," he said. The PCB is awaiting final confirmation from the BCB on whether it would be sending its team for the one-day series of three matches in Karachi and Lahore. "The PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf is also in Dhaka and was scheduled to discuss the progress on the tour with his Bangladesh counterpart," the official. Interestingly the PCB might not face issues appointing ICC elite panel umpires for the series as there are two Pakistani umpires on the panel, Aleem Dar and Asad Rauf, but the official admitted that the main problem would be the appointment of a match referee if the ICC was not able to send its representative from the elite panel. The BCB is due to seek clearance from its government for the tour after its security officials submit a report on their visit to Pakistan earlier this month. PTI