WT20: Suspense over! India-Pakistan tie shifted to Kolkata's Eden Gardens

New DelhiWith Pakistan refusing to play in Dharamsala the marquee World Twenty20 clashbetween the archrivals was on Wednesday shifted toKolkatas Eden Gardens puttingan end to the uncertainty and suspense over the fate of the highprofile matchAfter days of hectic activities and inspection by aPakistan security delegation the ICC finally announced therelocation of the match to the iconic Eden Gardens wherePakistan will be based for the initial stages of the eventA decision has been taken to relocate the IndiaPakistanmatch from Dharamsala to Kolkata due to security reasons Thematch will now be played at the same time and date March 19730pm ICC Chief Executive Officer Dave Richardson said ata press conferenceEden Gardens File PicThe concerns initially arose following alleged publiccomments recently reported by the Chief Minister of HimachalPradesh warning of demonstration and attempts to disrupt thepeaceful conduct of the match Our concerns relate both touncertainty as to the level of those threats as well as thelevel of commitment to implement any security plan developedto mitigate such treats he said explaining the decisionThe match ran into trouble after the Himachal Pradeshgovernment expressed its inability to provide security for thematch leaving the BCCI in a bind with Board Secretary AnuragThakur saying that the state should not play politicsRichardson said they were not left with any other choicebut to move the match out of the hill cityThe decision was not taken lightly The ICC and the BCCIunderstand the disappointment that is likely to be felt bymany over the decision to move the match But the safety andsecurity of the event is of paramount importance to the ICCand we have taken into consideration the concerns shared withus by our security advisors as well as Pakistan CricketBoard the ICC CEO saidFinally I would like to confirm that the ICC has beenassured by all relevant state authorities that all adequatesecurity measure are in place and will be implemented toensure that the event is staged in a safe and secureenvironment for all stakeholdersThe PCB had on Tuesday written to Richardson asking toconsider an alternative venue for the marquee match Theyproposed Kolkata or Mohali as a replacement for DharamsalaThe ICC CEO said they have conveyed the relocation of thematch to the Pakistan Cricket Board PCBOur decision have been conveyed to the PCB and theywould advice the government of the decision In India it isthe state which develops the security plans and we have beengiven assurance by all the state associations and the securityplans will be implemented he saidAsked if the BCCI or state association HPCA would faceany sanction Richardson replied in the negativeWe understand the circumstances India is a big andcomplicated country and there are challenges with every ICCevent It is the best decision to shift the match to KolkataIts not unprecedented Its unfortunate these concerns wereraised It was better if raised early Its a difficultdecision We wanted to stick to the original plan but we wereforced into relocationRichardson saidICC has not lost faith in India There are hugelogistics challenges There are 59 matches in total acrosseight venues And first time with women matches are also beingheld with mens eventIt is too early to take any disciplinary action againststate association If we didnt have the match then we wouldhave had more grounds but here we have relocated the match andit was the best option he saidTwo days back the top brass of Kolkata Police had confirmed that they will be able to provide the necessary security to all the teams staying hereFor every team we will be able to provide the security needed Deputy Commissioner headquarters Suprotim Sarkar had saidEven West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier showed keen interest to host BCCIs meeting with PCB after their proposed talk in Mumbai faced protests from Shiv Sena activistsAs per the ICC schedule Pakistan will be flying into the city on Wednesday night where they will play two warmup games against Bengal on March 12 and Sri Lanka on March 14 and one in the main round against a yet to be decided opponent on March 16They were to leave for Dharamsala on March 17 but with the match being shifted to Eden Gardens the team will stay back