The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema Sports Reporter
The Pakistani Embassy in Harare has assured the Zimbabwe cricket team of maximum security during their forthcoming tour of the Asian country.
After weeks of speculation and anticipation, the tour was finally confirmed last week and will include two Twenty20 matches and three One Day Internationals.
The tour , the first by a Test playing nation since March 2009, will unfold between May 22-31. The embassy’s Head of Mission Consular Sajjad Ahmed said he has received assurances from the Pakistan Cricket Board that the Zimbabwean contingent will be well taken care of.
“Contrary to media reports, Pakistan is very much a safe place to be right now and those terrorist elements are now a thing of the past,” said Ahmed.
“I have been led to believe that Zimbabwe Cricket and the Pakistan Cricket Board have been in constant contact and are currently ironing out the modalities of a visit by Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe and Pakistan have always had the best of relations and when they do visit, the cricket team will indeed be in safe hands,” he said.
Ahmed noted that the tour will further cement relations between the two countries. Unconfirmed reports coming out of Pakistan suggest that a purse, in the region of US$500 000, has been set aside to cater for a strong security team and life assurance polices for both players and officials.
Asked to comment on the reports Ahmed said he was not in a position to divulge much information as most details of the tour are being handled by the two cricketing bodies.
“What I can confirm is that there will be a very strong security detail, both at the match venue and accommodations, to ensure that the team is safely guarded throughout the tour.
“Furthermore, I am told a delegation is expected to fly over and inspect the venues and accommodations before the team travels. Any more questions on the matter will have to be directed at either Zimbabwe Cricket or the PCB,” he said.
Zimbabwe Cricket managing director (cricket affairs) Alistair Campbell will be part of the delegation that is expected to travel to Pakistan later this week to assess conditions.
“We are going to Pakistan, at the invitation of the PCB and Punjabi government, to inspect the match venues, accommodation and security measures after which we will write a report and present it to the board.
“It’s going to be a small detail which will include a few board members, security agents and player’s representative. At this point in time, the visit is just a formality and will mainly help us and the Pakistan Cricket Board prepare for the tour,” said Campbell. PCB chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan believes the tour by Zimbabwe will help dissuade the notion that Pakistan is an unsafe destination.
“This will be an auspicious moment for Pakistan cricket and I am positive that it will open doors of international cricket in Pakistan. Kenya have already been here for five matches against Pakistan ‘A’ and I am indeed confident that Zimbabwe’s incident-free tour shall be the harbinger of more and more associate and full member nations visiting us in the months and years to come,” Mohammad Khan was quoted as saying in a PCP news release.
