DUBAI, July 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday decided to allow the 2008 Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan as planned, despite security concerns.

The decision raises the possibility that players from Australia, New Zealand and England will refuse to play in the September tournament, forcing those countries to send weakened teams or pull out.

President of the ICC David Morgan said on Thursday that he expects a number of countries to send depleted squads.

“A number of countries today made it clear, as things stand currently, they will find it difficult to guarantee that first-choice 11s or squads would be at the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” Morgan stated.

“Currently, New Zealand have great doubts about the availability of many of their first-choice players. Once the task force comes to work, it could be New Zealand finds comfort in the work of the task force.”

Pakistan’s status as host of the Sept 11-28 tournament had been in jeopardy because national ruling bodies and player representatives from Australia, New Zealand and England had expressed concerns about security.

Sri Lanka had been among alternative venues for what is set to be the largest international cricket event in Pakistan since it co-hosted the World Cup with India in 1996.

Morgan said that they would work together with the embassies in Pakistan with the ICC formed task force that will visit Pakistan to check security measures.

“We will work in conjunction with embassies within Pakistan, who are also working with the task force, to ensure their security recommendations are carried out to the full,” Morgan asserted.

While Pakistan had the clear support of the three other Asian members — India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — players from Australia, New Zealand and England have showed reservations over participating in the tournament.

“There wasn’t a vote as such,” Morgan said. “There was a consensus that the event should be staged in Pakistan.”

Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds has said he will not travel to Pakistan, and Cricket Australia seemingly expressed sympathy with his stance by indicating that players who decide against touring for safety fears would not face future selection repercussions. That means players such as Symonds could skip the tour and return for the 2008-09 international season.

Australia are the only major Test-playing country that have not toured Pakistan over the past decade. They were scheduled to tour Pakistan in March-April, but rescheduled it until next year due to security concerns.

Meanwhile, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said the task force will liaise with those players that have security concerns.

“We are going to separate perception from reality and, while those concerns exist in terms of players, we will do our utmost to assure them that we would not go into an event where safety and security is going to be compromised,” he stated.

“We know of no credible threat against the event or against any team. For that matter, any player or individual. So, we are quite confident that the conflict currently ongoing in Pakistan is pretty much government and militants related,” he added.

Last October, the PCB shifted the fifth and final One-day International against South Africa from Karachi to Lahore after suicide bombs killed about 150 people in a procession of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The ex-premier died in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi in December.

Pakistan hosted the six-nation Asia Cup tournament this month without any major incident during the 13 One-day Internationals in Karachi and Lahore.

However, when Sri Lanka defeated India in the Asia Cup final in Karachi on July 6, a suicide bomb in Islamabad killed at least 19 people, mostly police officers. A string of six small explosions a day later wounded at least 37 people in Karachi.

Rawalpindi, a city near Islamabad, is one of the venues for the Champions Trophy, along with Lahore and Karachi. Each city is scheduled to host five Champions Trophy matches.—AP