Cricket Pakistan will host Champions Trophy: ICC

KARACHI: Visiting International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat Tuesday confirmed Champions Trophy will be staged in Pakistan in September - but admits it will be a struggle to convince players to participate. Pakistan has been hit by bomb blasts in recent months, but Lorgat- who led an ICC fact-finding mission - claims to have seen enough to convince him that it is safe to stage a major sporting event. "Pakistan has been given the all-clear to hold the Champions Trophy," said Lorgat. "I think personally from what I have seen and what I have heard, and beginning to witness some of actual security implementation measures, I am quite impressed with level of security in place. It is another matter to satisfy and improve confidence of key players." He will now visit Australia, New Zealand and England in an attempt to persuade players that their safety will be guaranteed. He added: "To convince them is a big challenge and it's upon us to convey message and to raise confidence based on what we have seen and experienced that security arrangements in place should be sufficient to have the event safe and secure." Lorgat suggested Rawalpindi would be dropped as one of venues, with all matches being staged in Karachi and Lahore. "There is a strong likelihood that Karachi and Lahore will hold matches, thus excluding Rawalpindi as one of three venues."