'ATC to be held as scheduled'

By Rizwan Ehsan Ali

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 12. The Asian Test Championship will be held as scheduled whether India plays against Pakistan in the league match or not, said Asian Cricket Council's president Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia on Saturday.

Lt. Gen. Tauqir, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board, said that the championship would be `meaningless' if one of the participants failed to compete due to any reason. Tauqir's Indian counterpart Mr. A.C. Muthiah reportedly said on Friday that if India doesn't play Pakistan the championship, ``will be called off.'' The PCB chief, however, disagreed with Mr. Muthiah and said, ``it's his (Muthiah's) personal opinion. It will be meaningless if either India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka doesn't participate. But let me assure you that as ACC president I am sure the championship will be organised according to the schedule,'' he said.

The PCB hopes that BCCI would get a clearance from its External Affairs Ministry as the Sports Minister, Ms. Uma Bharti, has already said that India could compete against Pakistan in multilateral tournaments. India is scheduled to play against Pakistan at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium from September 12 to 16, provided the BCCI gets permission from it's government.

In another development, Lt. Gen. Tauqir said the PCB had so far not received any request from the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption Unit to make star batsman Inzamam-ul Haq available for interview. ``It (ACU) has already interviewed Rashid Latif, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar but in Inzamam's case we have not received any request from it,'' he said.

Pybus yet to reply

The PCB is still waiting for South African coach Richard Pybus to accept a short-term coaching contract after it failed to find a suitable foreigner for the post. Pybus has been offered a short- term contract until October's triangular series in Sharjah - which also features Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka - after he did not accept a long-term contract till World Cup 2003 in South Africa due to pressing domestic engagements.

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Section  : Sport
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