Pakistan confirm participation after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee gives written assurance on security.
The Pakistan government had asked for a “public guarantee” of security from its Indian counterpart before approving the men and women teams’ participation in the World T20. After Ganguly had forwarded Banerjee’s letter – Kolkata’s police commissioner Rajeev Kumar also wrote a separate letter, guaranteeing security – to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); Najam Sethi, chairman of the PCB’s executive committee, called on Pakistan’s interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
Decks have been cleared for the Pakistan cricket team’s visit to India for the ongoing World T20. A letter from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, assuring “absolute security” for the Pakistan side during their stay in Kolkata, did the trick with the Pakistan government eventually approving their team’s participation in the ICC event. Banerjee wrote the letter on Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly’s request. “I personally requested her (for a formal assurance),”
“Good news. Bengal CM and Union Home Minister and ICC and BCCI have all given public assurances of security to Pak team,” Sethi tweeted. “Subsequently, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has also approved Pakistan’s participation in the T20 World Cup. The team is completely ready and hopefully they will fly to Dubai tonight and then from there will leave straight for India,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.