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First Look: ICC World Cup 2011

February 18, 2009 16:46 IST

International Cricket Council chief Haroon Lorgat on Tuesday night insisted that the 2011 World Cup, to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, will not be shifted out of Pakistan.

All the four host nations, he said, have only been asked to have an alternate venue in hand.

"There is no truth in the World Cup moving as far as we are concerned. We are planning for the four countries to host it.

"What we are planning to do, as we do for all our events, is to do a security assessment and then take a view at that time," Lorgat told a media conference to announce a three-year partnership between the ICC and Yahoo India during which he and former India captain Rahul Dravid unveiled the 2011World Cup trophy.

He also added that a final decision will be taken in a year's time.

"The World Cup is two years away. It will be speculative to state what the security situation would be in a few years time (in Pakistan)."

Earlier in the day, Lorgat had been quoted as saying organisers of the 2011 World Cup should consider shifting venues to another city, even to another country, if situation so demands.

However, he however, felt there is still enough time in hand and there is no need to press the panic button.

"I think it's still a long way off to World Cup. It is certainly a consideration to keep note of but it's way too early to be already concerned at this particular stage," he added.

Lorgat said, if all goes well, of the 15 World Cup venues, eight would be in India, four in Pakistan, two in Sri Lanka and one in Bangladesh.

Photograph: Bikash Mohapatra

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