Pakistan offers insurance and security for visiting teams

KARACHI (Reuters): Pakistan will offer visiting players insurance worth two million dollars each in a bid to overcome security fears and revive international cricket in the country, the Chairman of the national cricket board (PCB) Zaka Ashraf said on Wednesday.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf

“We are taking all steps to revive international cricket here and everyone should feel proud about the efforts we have made in this regard,” Ashraf told the Dawn newspaper.

The steps would include offering insurance and providing security for visiting teams, he said.

“(People) are afraid that they would be subjected to a shoot-out as soon as they come out of the airport,” Ashraf said. “There is lot of effort required to change this perception because things are definitely not so bad here.”

International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since 2009 when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore. Six Pakistani policemen and a driver were killed and five players were wounded.

No test team has toured Pakistan since and the International Cricket Council (ICC) moved 2011 World Cup matches away from the country because of security concerns. When a World XI played two Twenty20 exhibitions in Pakistan last October, the country supplied 5,000 police and paramilitary personnel to provide security.