Published: Aug 27, 2014, 10:06 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 27, 2014, 10:06 PM (IST)
Karachi, Aug 27
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it was confident that the Lahore Lions team would get clearance from the Indian government to participate in the forthcoming Champions League T20 in India.
A official aware of the developments said that until now the BCCI had not contacted the PCB on the matter of the Lahore team’s participation in the competition.
“The Lahore Lions team is due to leave around September 8 for the event and so far the only correspondence we have had with the BCCI on the Champions League is the invitation they sent to us,” he said. He said that the PCB had got no indications or mails from the BCCI.
“We only know that the BCCI as per the process has sought clearance from its relevant government quarters for the Lahore Lions team to travel to India for the event and we are hopeful the clearance will be given.” The members of the Lahore Lions team are already attending a training camp for the event. Some of the national team players will join the camp after returning from the series in Sri Lanka.
“Notable among them are captain Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Wahab Riaz and Umar Akmal who are in Sri Lanka.” The PCB has already decided that Shafiq Ahmed, a former well-known first class player who played in one Test and who is also director of domestic cricket operations in the PCB, will accompany the Lahore team as manager.
In the last two years, Sialkot Stallions and Faisalabad Wolves represented Pakistan in the Champions League. Some sections of the media have reported that there is uncertainty over the Lahore team getting clearance due to the cold relations between the two countries.
