India earmarks eight 2011 WC venues

Karachi: India will finalise and submit its eight venues for the World Cup matches on Monday that will be incorporated in the 2011 World Cup bid.

The venues have to be incorporated in the document of interest/compliance book to be submitted with the official bid with the ICC by April 21, PCB Director, Cricket Operations, Saleem Altaf said.

Altaf attended an Asian sub-committee meeting in New Delhi on April 6 that was held under the chairmanship of IS Bindra.

India had decided to hold the World Cup at 22 venues but changed their plans and will host 22 games at eight venues.

Pakistan will host 16 matches, Sri Lanka nine and Bangladesh six, Altaf said.

Altaf disclosed that Pakistan had selected Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad as venues to host matches while Sri Lanka had earmarked the Premadasa Stadium and Sinhalese Cricket Club in Colombo.

Bangladesh will host matches at Fatullah Stadium on the outskirts of Dhaka, he said.

The ICC is expected to decide the 2011 World Cup host later this month after evaluating Asia's bid on April 21.

Besides Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and England have also submitted their bids. If Asia's bid is accepted, England would withdraw its bid.

"We will be having another meeting on April 12 in Delhi in which they will submit the printed book and on April 13 the Indian board President Sharad Pawar would chair a meeting in which the documents would be finalised. He said the representatives of all four boards will meet again on the April 18 in Abu Dhabi for a final presentation on the bid by Ogilvy and Mather after which they would travel to Dubai to submit the bid," said the PCB official.

The meetings in Delhi went well with more coordination between the four countries over the final bid and compliance book requirements.

"Our representative Subhan Ahmed is, in fact, now in Dubai reviewing the compliance book with ICC officials before it is finally printed," he said.

The compliance book is a mandatory document and has been asked for by the ICC.

It contains details of the concessions the host countries can give in taxes, visa and immigration control and also security, logistical arrangements etc.