ISLAMABAD: Secretary, Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC), Bilal Satti, said on Sunday that they had to face many problems in hosting the Twenty-20 Cricket championship.
Satti told APP that they want to host the PBCC Twenty-20 Cricket Champions Trophy in Islamabad from April 24 but now they had shifted it to Bahawalpur.
"We had to do this after Pakistan Sports Board refused to provide us the hostel facility to the participants," he said.
"I went to the DG PSB, Amir Hamza Gilani, earlier this week and requested him allow booking of rooms in Allama Iqbal hostel at the Complex for the participating teams.I told him that we need rooms for teams but he refused saying that no space is available in the hostel." Satti said it was very difficult for us to shift the venue on a very short time.
"We had to do this as we were left with no other choice after the refusal of the DG PSB to accommodate our teams. We had to face many difficulties because of his refusal including a steep surge in the expenses to shift the venue."
He said it was for the first time that as many as 12 teams were participating in the PBCC Twenty-20 Cricket Champions Trophy which would have proved very healthy for the blind cricket.
"We have contacts in the media here and it would have been possible for us to get full media coverage if the event was organised in Islamabad."
"But in Bahawalpur, we do not know any media persons so it would be a great drawback for us that we won't be able to get as much as media coverage in Bahawalpur as we would have receive here."
He further said the hostel that has been made available to us in Bahawalpur is many times expensive as comparing to Islamabad. He said the matches of the championship will be played at cricket grounds of Dring stadium, Bahawalpur.
As many as 12 teams will chip in the event which will be further divided into two pools. Islamabad, AJK, Karachi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Quetta are in Pool-A while Lahore, Bahawalpur, Peshawar, Okara, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad are in Pool-B, he added.
Meanwhile the DG PSB could not be reached on phone as he was busy in a meeting or so. His staff promised to connect him with this scribe when he is free. But he did not make a return call.
However, an official of the Pakistan Sports Board told APP that there was plenty of space available in the said hostel to make the stay of the teams possible.
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