It’s official: South Africa pull out of Champions Trophy

South Africa became the first country on Friday to officially withdraw from the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next month...

South Africa became the first country on Friday to officially withdraw from the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next month because of safety and security concerns.

A Cricket South Africa (CSA) statement said the decision followed a presentation from an International Cricket Council task force headed by the world governing body’s chief executive Haroon Lorgat. “The decision was taken after assessment of the presentation as well as the information available from a number of other security reports, including one from the South African government,” the statement said.

South African Cricketers’ Association chief executive officer Tony Irish said: “This was a difficult decision, but it was the right one. There is nothing more important than the safety of our national team. We appreciate all the efforts of the ICC task team, the Pakistan Cricket Board, the Pakistan authorities and the security consultants. The players are naturally disappointed for their fans and the people of Pakistan that they will not have a chance to see them in action in that country in September.”

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CSA president Norman Arendse added that he hoped the ICC would be able to reschedule the tournament. “After extensive discussions and frank exchange of views, the board resolved not to send our team at this time to Pakistan. We respect the right of the PCB to stage the tournament and we would urge the ICC to reschedule the tournament as soon as possible,” he said.

The ICC executive will meet on Sunday to take a final decision on whether the tournament should go ahead as planned.

India backs Pakistan

Meanwhile, the Indian cricket board has thrown its weight behind Pakistan to host the Champions Trophy. BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, while supporting Pakistan, urged other cricket boards to trust the security assurances given by PCB and the Pakistan government.

“We are supporting Pakistan. I think everything depends on Pakistan and on what are the concerns about security. If they say everything is OK and the tournament can be held as per the schedule then we are with them,” Shah told Geo News.

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Sources say India’s insistence on holding the tournament as scheduled in Pakistan is the only reason things have become so uncertain, with the ICC and other nations forced to reconsider their initial position of not touring the violence-marred nation. However, Shah was non-committal when asked what would be India’s stance if the ICC insisted on relocating the tournament. “At the moment I can not answer this question. Let this situation come first. There is a meeting (via teleconference) on August 24 in which everything will be decided,” he said.

Asked about any possibility of India and Pakistan playing a series if the Champions Trophy is postponed or relocated, Shah denied any such series happening. “No, it is not possible because we have a full series in Pakistan later this year,” he said.