Pakistan set to lose money with England’s first tour of the country in 17 years
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Pakistan is set to LOSE money on England’s first tour of the country in 17 years, with presidential-level security costing the PCB £4.4million alone
- England’s first tour of Pakistan since they came in 2005, over 17 years ago
- To make sure it’s safe, PCB has put security for England at the presidential level
- Pakistan had been starving to host international competitions for over a decade
- Tourists have hundreds of armed guards around their hotel and plainclothes bodyguards
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Pakistan will lose money on England’s first visit in 17 years, while presidential-level security alone costs £4.4 million.
However, the desire to make touring the country feel ‘normal’ again was such that the Pakistan Cricket Council was prepared to take the financial blow, just like it did in the spring when Australia was here for Test and white-ball series.
Pakistan was banned from hosting international matches for ten years after the Sri Lanka team bus was ambushed by terrorists in Lahore in 2009.
Pakistan is in danger of losing money over security spending the PCB paid for England this winter
And now that they have it back, the PCB and the Pakistani government know they cannot afford any missteps, meaning the players have been given the same treatment usually reserved for heads of state.
England has hundreds of armed officers in their hotel and is followed everywhere by plainclothes bodyguards.
The teams from Pakistan and England travel together on training and match days, with snipers on buildings and soldiers lining medians en route.
Hundreds of armed officers patrol areas where players gather and play
Even the spider-cam over the National Stadium was brought down for fear the overhead wires would prevent a helicopter from landing in the center of the playing field if an evacuation were necessary.
Meanwhile, Azeem Rafiq has written to the ECB asking it to hold disciplinary hearings with seven former Yorkshire players – including Michael Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard and Tim Bresnan – on racism charges. The Cricket Discipline Commission will meet next month.
The ECB, which did not comment last night, is expected to decline Rafiq’s request, saying making the hearing public could jeopardize their ability to secure key witnesses.
Security is on a par with Australia when they toured the country in the spring