Chennai cops get Pakistan Board pat

A four-member inspection team of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) led by the board’s General Manager (Media Affairs) Nadeem Sarwar met City Police Commissioner S George on Tuesday ahead of the bilateral series, scheduled after a gap of 5 years, which is slated to begin in the City on December 30.

The team comprised Ehsan Sadiq, Director Security & Vigilance, PCB, Sohail Khan, DIG Operations, Punjab Police (Pakistan), and Usman Wallah, Manager (Operations), International Cricket, besides Nadeem Sarwar. During the meeting, George had discussions on the itinerary of the teams and other programmes with the visiting delegates. Besides, the meeting also focussed on security arrangements and other logistics to be planned for the conduct of the match. GM (Game Development) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Prof RS Shetty, Anti-Corrupion and Security Unit Chief Ravi Sawani, Manager (Cricket Operations) Suru Nayak, and TNCA office bearers Ganesan and KS Viswanathan were also present during the meeting.

Speaking to reporters, Nadeem Sarwar said that the Chennai City Police had handled many big international events. “They know their job. I believe there won’t be any trouble,” he said. He was also confident that the City Police would provide requisite security for their team. The last time Chennai hosted an India-Pakistan test match was in Jan 1999 as part of a bilateral series. The next opportunity to host a match comes after more than a decade.

The PCB panel also visited the MA Chidambaram Stadium and took stock of the arrangements there.