India-Pakistan World T20 match moved to Kolkata

NEW DELHI — The Pakistan-India World Twenty20 cricket match has been switched away from the Indian northern hill town of Dharamsala after Pakistan expressed concerns over security, tournament organizers said Wednesday. “The decision has been taken to relocate the India-Pakistan match from Dharamsala to Kolkata for security reasons,” International Cricket Council Chief Executive David Richardson said. “The concerns initially arose following alleged public comments recently reported by the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, warning of demonstration and attempts to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the match. Our concerns relate both to uncertainty as to the level of those threats as well as the level of commitment to implement any security plan developed to mitigate such treats. “The bottom line is ... security is paramount and it’s a difficult decision, not one that we wanted to make because we wanted to stick with the original plan but one we’ve been forced into,” Richardson told a press conference in New Delhi. Pakistan had delayed its departure to India which is hosting the World T20 as it awaited security clearance from its country’s government. Pakistan sent a security assessment team to India Monday after voicing repeated concerns about arrangements, saying there had been threats from Hindu activists. The archrivals had been due to play a high-voltage game on March 19 in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh state, where locals had objected to the staging of the match. India-Pakistan showdowns usually draw hundreds of millions of television viewers, making it the biggest box office attraction in the sport. Diplomatic tensions have meant that the two teams have not played any bilateral series for more than three years, and their rivalry is restricted to multi-national tournaments such as the World T20. Last week state Himachal Pradesh state Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh caused a stir by refusing to provide security for the game, prompting the PCB to demand the match be shifted to a new venue. PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan said the departure of Pakistan’s women’s team was also on hold pending clearance. The first round of the World Twenty20 started Tuesday. The top eight-ranked nations, including Pakistan, will join the competition from the “Super 10” stage which begins on March 15. Pakistan is due to play its opening match against a first-round qualifier in Kolkata on March 16.