Musharraf assures PCB of stadium control in Rawalpindi and Faisala

Lahore, May 30 (UNI) Much to its delight, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has got assurance from President General Pervez Musharraf that it would soon get control of the stadiums in Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.

After receiving a flak from the ICC for poor infrastructure, PCB was seeking control of the stadiums to upgrade them for major international tournaments and President Musharraf, also the chief patron of the board, came in their support.

PCB Director of Board Operations Abbas Zaidi told 'The News' that the president met board Chairman Shaharyar Khan and ''...was surprised because he thought the PCB had already been given the control of the two stadiums'' and promised the same.

Mr Zaidi said President's assurance comes as a boost for the Board which is planning to upgrade the cricket infrastructure in the country ahead of the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2011 World Cup.

During the meeting, Shaharyar briefed the president on securing the Champions Trophy and the World Cup and General Musharraf was pleased with the recent developments.

General Musharraf later felicitated the Pakistan under-19 squad which won the Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka earlier this year and said he had great expectations from the youngsters.

He also met chief selector Wasim Bari and former Test cricketer, Mudassar Nazar, who took over as Director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

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