2011 WC secretariat shifted to Mumbai, India to host 29 games

Mumbai, Apr 28 (PTI) India's financial capital Mumbai
will house the 2011 World Cup secretariat and India will host
29 of the 49 matches after the event's Central Organising
Committee Tuesday reallocated the games following the ICC
decision to drop Pakistan as a co-host of the tournament.

Accordingly, the opening match of the 10th edition of the
quadrennial tournament would be held as scheduled in
Bangladesh on February 19, 2011, while the final would be held
in India.

The opening ceremony of cricket's showpiece event would
also be held in Bangladesh on February 18.

"The Central Organising Committee, which continues to
have Sharad Pawar heading it, has reallocated the matches by
which India would host 29 games across eight venues, Sri Lanka
12 games across three and Bangladesh eight at two venues," ICC
CEO Haroon Lorgat said here.

"Bangladesh would play host to two quarter finals while
one quarter final each would be held by India and Sri Lanka
who will also split the two semi finals equally. The final
would be held in India (in March, 2011)," Lorgat said.

The reallocation of matches was necessitated by the ICC's
decision to take away co-hosting rights from Pakistan due to
security concerns in the wake of the terror attack on Sri
Lankan cricketers in Lahore on March 3.

Pakistan was slated to host 14 ties, including a
semifinal, while Lahore was named the home of the secretariat.

"The Central Organising Committee was also reorganised
and will continue to be headed by Sharad Pawar with
representatives from the three World Cup hosting countries and
a representative of the ICC," Lorgat said.

The World Cup Organising Committee also relocated the
Secretariat from Lahore to the BCCI's headquarters in Mumbai,
besides appointing BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar
Shetty as the Event Managing Director.

"Prof Shetty will be the Event Managing Director while I
S Bindra, the special adviser to the ICC, would be a key
person in the management of the World Cup. The secretariat
will be in Mumbai in the offices of the BCCI", the ICC CEO
said.

There would also be a venue inspection group to oversee
the preparation for the mega event in which BCCI secretary N
Srinivasan and Shetty, along with Bangladesh's Mahbubul Anam,
are members, Lorgat said.

Lorgat assured that the security concerns of the various
members of the ICC and the players would be addressed with the
formation of a special committee, headed by BCCI President
Shashank Manohar, to oversee the security details.

"The security arrangements are very important and a
special committee with Mr Shashank Manohar at its helm would
put together security plans for the successful conduct of the
World Cup in 2011", the ICC official said.

"It will be an ongoing process till World Cup 2011, and
we will do our best to convince players and other countries in
addressing security issues," Lorgat said.

He also said that the ICC has not received any
communication, in writing or otherwise, from the Pakistan
Cricket Board about their team not wanting to play any World
Cup tie in India.

"We have nothing on the table. We would cross the bridge
when we reach it. I don't think Pakistan would object (to
playing matches in India)," he maintained.

Lorgat did not read much into the decision of the Indian
Premier League not to have members of the ICC's
Anti-Corruption Unit overseeing its running of matches.

"It's the BCCI's prerogative whether to ask for ICC's
Anti-Corruption Unit's assistance or not in the IPL," he said.

The meeting was attended by Pawar (Chairman), Bindra,
Manohar, Srinivasan and M P Pandove (all from BCCI), Lt Gen
Sina Ibn Jamali, Mahbubul Anam and Shafiqur Rahnan (all from
Bangladesh Cricket Board), D S De Silva, Nishantha Ranatunga,
Sujeewa Rajapakse and Duleep Mendis (all from Sri Lanka
Cricket Board) and Lorgat. PTI SSR
PMR
NNNN