Sports
Ben Stokes: England Players Trust Security Advice On Pakistan Tour
(CTN NEWS) – England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, says that his team will be confident in the Pakistan security delegation set up by the ECB before they toured Pakistan, amid concerns that the first Test could be moved from Rawalpindi to another venue following Imran Khan’s attempted assassination last week.
Imran, Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain in 1992, was replaced as Pakistan’s prime minister earlier this year following a vote of no confidence.
In Wazirabad, about 180 kilometres southeast of Islamabad, he was shot at during a protest rally on November 3.
One person was killed, and ten others were injured in the attack.
In Adelaide, where he was preparing for the T20 World Cup semi-final against India.
Ben Stokes acknowledged that the incident had caused some concern within the English team but said he and his players would have “100 % trust” in Reg Dickason, the veteran security advisor for England’s touring arrangements for over a decade.
Ben Stokes told reporters in Adelaide, “It was a bit shocking to see what happened there last week.” Reg Dickason is currently on the ground.
Reg Dickason, pictured on a visit to the Gadaffi Stadium, has overseen England’s security arrangements for more than a decade
“I think he’s the best person to be out there assessing the situation since he has been England’s main security man for many years.
“But until we have all the information back from Reg once he’s out there, we can’t comment on anything. But the players and everyone going on that tour trust him completely. He’s a man you trust with your life.”
At this stage, there is no indication that the tour is in danger following last month’s successful staging of seven T20Is in Karachi and Lahore.
The ECB – criticized for cancelling last year’s goodwill visit – is understood to be waiting for the situation to stabilize before making any decisions.
Despite that, Imran’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI), is expected to continue its “long march” towards the capital later this week to press for a general election, so Rawalpindi is likely to be passed by them by the third week of November.
The first Test at Rawalpindi will begin on December 1, and England’s anticipated return from their training camp in Dubai on November 26-27.
Multan from December 9-13 and Karachi from December 17-21 will be the next two Tests for England.
Due to ongoing protests by Imran’s supporters, who blocked the Pindi-Islamabad highway on Monday, the first day of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy match between Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in Rawalpindi was postponed.
In an attempt to determine the fate of the QEA game, the PCB met with the local government. Tuesday, it wasn’t clear whether the game would start on Wednesday or if it would be further delayed.
After overseeing the arrival of England’s ODI players ahead of next week’s three-match series against Australia, Dickason will leave for Pakistan later this week.
During the 2016 tour of Bangladesh, following a terrorist attack in Dhaka’s capital, he played for the England squad.
As Ben Stokes added: “Reg Dickason is our top security officer, and he is trying to obtain information for us.” “No matter what Reg says, the players and the ECB will listen.”
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