ICC aims to win players' confidence for Champions Trophy 24 Jul, 2008 © AFP
The chief executive of the International Cricket Council sought Thursday to allay fears players may pull out from the Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in troubled Pakistan in September. Haroon Lorgat said the prospect of pullouts was an "obvious concern", but urged players not to withdraw, saying the ICC would do all in its power to ensure their safety. "It's not something that I treat lightly, but I think it's something that we can manage," Lorgat told reporters here. The comments came after the ICC's executive board held a teleconference to discuss the possibility of moving the event because of security fears raised by Australia, England and New Zealand. It decided to keep it in Pakistan, but will appoint a taskforce to ensure security recommendations are implemented properly. "We can use this task team to ensure that we properly communicate with the players who have concerns. We have to make sure we can get the confidence of the players," said Lorgat. "We have to separate perception from reality. While those concerns exist, we will do our utmost to assure them (players) we would not go in a tournament where safety or security is going to be compromised. Lorgat said the ICC was confident of successfully organising the eight-team tournament, to be held from September 11 to 28, with Australia as the defending champions. Hosts Pakistan, South Africa, the West Indies, England, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are the other teams taking part in the tournament. "Our security advisors are very confident. We know of no credible threat against the event or any players. The Asia Cup was held recently and there were no incidents. It was a pretty safe event," he said. The six-nation Asia Cup ended in Karachi early this month. Pakistan's fate as tournament host was left hanging in the balance on Sunday after a security briefing in Dubai featuring all participating nations decided to wait for the ICC teleconference to announce a decision. | 
