Pakistan stripped of co-host status

Pakistan stripped of co-host status

Pakistan was stripped of its rights as co-host of the 2011 World Cup by the ICC on 17 April 2009 due to ongoing concerns about the "uncertain security situation" prevailing in the country, especially in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Lahore during Sri Lanka's tour in 2009.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has hinted that it may refuse to participate in the World Cup if they are asked to play in India. However, there is no concrete evidence whether this will actually happen.

It is estimated that the PCB will lose $10.5 million due to the tournament being taken away from them. This figure only includes the match-fee of $750,000 per match guaranteed by the ICC. The overall loss to the PCB and the Pakistani economy is expected to be much greater.

On 9 April 2009, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt revealed that they had issued a legal notice to oppose ICC's decision. However, the ICC claims that the PCB is still a co-host and they have only shifted the matches out of Pakistan. Pakistan have proposed that South Asia host the 2015 World Cup and Australia/New Zealand host 2011, however this option has not found favour with their co-hosts and hence seems unlikely