The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially conveyed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be their choice as the neutral venue for India's matches in the Champions Trophy, reports Cricbuzz.
This decision was arrived at after a meeting between Sheikh Mubarak Al Nahyan, the chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), and Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB. The meeting was held in Sanghar in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Al Nahyan is on a tour of Pakistan presently.
With the agreement between PCB and ECB, Dubai now is almost confirmed to be the venue for the big India-Pakistan game, likely to be played on February 23. UAE has two other international venues in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah but Dubai will be the choice because of its size.
“The PCB has chosen the UAE as the neutral venue and the PCB has formally informed the ICC about the decision. Now, India and Pakistan's Champions Trophy matches will be held in the UAE,” a spokesman for the PCB said. “The final decision was made after a meeting between Mohsin Naqvi and Sheikh Al Nahyan.”
As per the ICC board decision, the choice of neutral venue for a global event will be at the discretion of the host board. The PCB also weighed in on the option of Sri Lanka but finally zeroed in on the UAE.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
