Ganesha immersion coinciding with the Pakistan Cricket Team arriving in the city, Hyderabad Police are having a tough time fulfilling BCCI Secretary Jay Shah’s promise of full-proof security. So much so that, most of them are working overtime to offer safety for both. With the security of Babar Azam & Co paramount, Hyderabad police are leaving no stones unturned as the neighbours set to stay in the city for close to two weeks before travelling to Ahmedabad. But with the World Cup and festivities, Hyderabad police are spending sleepless nights.
Pakistan Cricket Team is in India after seven years following a lot of back and forth due to security. But now that they are here, Hyderabad Police are giving the team a Z-category security during their stay. Babar Azam & Co got a rousing reception at the Hyderabad airport on Wednesday night.
“The team is fully satisfied with security whether it is at the stadium or at the hotel,” a PCB source told PTI.
Sound security for Pakistan Cricket team
As Pakistan Cricket team travelled to the stadium for practice ahead of PAK vs NZ clash, Hyderabad police provided them with six-van police escort.
The police escort waited for both teams to finish before condoning Babar Azam & Co back to the team hotel. Even at the team hotel, police are not leaving any stones unturned with metal detectors and sniffing dogs everywhere.
But as Hyderabad are juggling between World Cup and festive duties, the PAK vs NZ World Cup warm-up clash will be held without any spectators.
Pakistan Cricket team will play the warm-up game without a crowd. Even then, 200 police personnel will be present at the stadium. When the crowd is back for the PAK vs AUS warm-up match on Oct 3, the number will shoot up to 800.
“There is no threat to any team in the competition including Pakistan but you have to take due security measures. Yes, since Pakistan are here after a long time, extra precaution is being taken. Having said that, the security of all the teams is of equal importance,” a security official told PTI.
However, the situation could have been avoided had BCCI put a little more thought into World Cup scheduling. Hyderabad Police will not breathe a sigh of relief as the city will host two back-to-back games on Oct 9 and Oct 10. It has put more pressure on the police.
“Majority of our staff will get very little time to sleep today and tomorrow. The same goes for back-to-back games in October,” added the official.
Pakistan squad for World Cup 2023
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
Pakistan World Cup Schedule
| Date | Day | Team 1 | Team 2 | City | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6 | Friday | Pakistan | Netherlands | Hyderabad | Pak won by 81 runs |
| Oct 10 | Tuesday | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Hyderabad | Pak won by 6 wickets |
| Oct 14 | Saturday | India | Pakistan | Ahmedabad | India won by 7 wickets |
| Oct 20 | Friday | Australia | Pakistan | Bengaluru | Aus won by 62 runs |
| Oct 23 | Monday | Pakistan | Afghanistan | Chennai | Pak lost by 8 wickets |
| Oct 27 | Friday | Pakistan | South Africa | Chennai | Pak lost by 1-wicket |
| Oct 31 | Tuesday | Pakistan | Bangladesh | Kolkata | Pak won by 7-wickets |
| Nov 4 | Saturday | New Zealand | Pakistan | Bengaluru | Pakistan won by 21 runs via DLS |
| Nov 11 | Saturday | England | Pakistan | Kolkata | 2:00 PM |
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