 "ICC T20 World Cup: CWI assures safety after tournament gets terror threat")
West Indies, one of the co-hosts of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, has received a terror threat to the tournament from North Pakistan. Following this, the Cricket West Indies (CWI) has provided assurances regarding the implementation of all necessary safety measures, according to a report on Cricbuzz.
The report cited Johnny Grave, chief executive officer (CEO) of the CWI, as saying, “We work closely with authorities in the host countries and cities, and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event.”
As quoted in the report, the terror threat read, “Pro-Islamic state (IS) media sources have launched campaigns inciting violence against sporting events, which included video messages from the Afghanistan-Pakistan branch, ISKhorasan (IS-K) which highlighted assaults in numerous countries and urged supporters to join the battlefield in their countries.”
Caribbean media reports said the authorities are actively monitoring potential threats to the T20 World Cup.
Graves said, “We want to assure all stakeholders that safety and security of everyone at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place.”
Reports showed that a potential threat to the World Cup has been received via the Pro-Islamic State (Daesh) media outlet ‘Nashir Pakistan’.
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According to news reports, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley said the Caricom and security agencies are collaborating to address the threat to the World Cup.
Additionally, regional security officials in Barbados are actively monitoring potential threats to the ICC event.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled from June 2 to June 29, will take place across multiple locations this year in the West Indies, including Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Additional matches are planned for Florida, New York, and Texas in the United States. Presently, there have been no specific threats reported concerning the venues in the US.
The tournament’s final will be held in Barbados, with the semi-finals scheduled for Trinidad and Guyana. This marks the West Indies' return to hosting the Cricket World Cup since 2010, when it last hosted the World T20 14 years ago.