Organisers not to open joint account for 2011 World Cup

BHURBAN: Cricket World Cup 2011Organising Committee has decided not to open joint account for the mega event, in its first meeting in this northern Pakistani hill resort on Monday.

The meeting was attended by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India Sharad Pawar, CEO of Bangladesh Cricket Board Mehmood-ur-Rahman, chief executive Sri Lankan Cricket Board Dilip Mendies and other top cricket officials of the South Asian nations hosting the 2011 cricket World Cup.

The committee was looking at common visas for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, following a pattern established by Caribbean nations for this year's competition, officials said.

PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said that the committee would ask the ICC for grants to develop cricket grounds in all four countries,

"like they gave to the Caribbean countries,"

said Ashraf.

Ashraf said that Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad would host the World Cup matches in Pakistan.

The inaugural ceremony of the event will be held in Dhaka, while Lahore and Colombo will host semifinals and final of mega event will be held in Mumbai.

The organizers promised to hold a spectator-friendly tournament with affordable ticket prices.

"We promise a spectator- and media-friendly World Cup in four years time,"

said Sharad Pawar, chairman BCCI.

"We will make unrelenting efforts to make the event a spectacular one so that more and more people come and watch the best cricket,"

said Pawar.

"We assure that prices of the tickets will be affordable to the local paying capacity,"

said Pawar.

He said the committee was looking at common visas for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, following a pattern established by Caribbean nations for this year's competition.

"The possibility of a common visa will also be explored through talks with governments,"

said Pawar.

The meeting also chose Pakistan's eastern cultural hub of Lahore as the headquarters of the World Cup 2011.

The four countries from the subcontinent beat a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand to stage the 2011 World Cup. Australia and New Zealand will now have the 2015 edition.

The next organising committee meeting will be held in India in November-December this year.