Pakistan cricket attacks raise doubts over World Cup
Updated at: 1350 PST, Tuesday, March 03, 2009
NEW DELHI: The attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Pakistan on Tuesday has rocked the South Asian heartland of the international game and raised stark security concerns over the 2011 World Cup.
That showpiece event is due to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the four cricket-obsessed Test nations that make up the sport's financial nerve centre.
But Tuesday's attack is likely to eliminate Pakistan as an international cricket venue for the foreseeable future, and the other three nations would be hard pushed to make a convincing case that they can offer sufficient security guarantees.
India, which generates an estimated 70 percent of cricket's worldwide revenues, had its security credentials shredded by the Mumbai attacks last November which coincided with a tour by the England team.
One of the main targets of the attacks, when gunmen killed 165 people, was the Taj Mahal Hotel, where the England players had stayed on arrival.
Sri Lanka is struggling to finish off a long-running conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels while Bangladesh is recovering from a mutiny in the armed forces that turned part of the capital Dhaka into a battleground last week.
Seven Sri Lankan cricketers were injured when gunmen opened fire on their bus as it headed to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore for the third day's play in the second Test against Pakistan.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) condemned Tuesday's attack, which killed six policemen and two civilians.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the deaths were "a source of great sadness" and that it was "very upsetting for the wider cricket family" that some of the Sri Lanka players and a match official were injured.
Pakistan cricket attacks raise doubts over World Cup
Updated at: 1350 PST, Tuesday, March 03, 2009
NEW DELHI: The attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Pakistan on Tuesday has rocked the South Asian heartland of the international game and raised stark security concerns over the 2011 World Cup.
That showpiece event is due to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the four cricket-obsessed Test nations that make up the sport's financial nerve centre.
But Tuesday's attack is likely to eliminate Pakistan as an international cricket venue for the foreseeable future, and the other three nations would be hard pushed to make a convincing case that they can offer sufficient security guarantees.
India, which generates an estimated 70 percent of cricket's worldwide revenues, had its security credentials shredded by the Mumbai attacks last November which coincided with a tour by the England team.
One of the main targets of the attacks, when gunmen killed 165 people, was the Taj Mahal Hotel, where the England players had stayed on arrival.
Sri Lanka is struggling to finish off a long-running conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels while Bangladesh is recovering from a mutiny in the armed forces that turned part of the capital Dhaka into a battleground last week.
Seven Sri Lankan cricketers were injured when gunmen opened fire on their bus as it headed to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore for the third day's play in the second Test against Pakistan.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) condemned Tuesday's attack, which killed six policemen and two civilians.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the deaths were "a source of great sadness" and that it was "very upsetting for the wider cricket family" that some of the Sri Lanka players and a match official were injured.
Pakistan cricket attacks raise doubts over World Cup
