CM KP takes notice, orders under-13 cricket trials to continue

ABBOTTABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Pervez Khattak took notice of the city district administration’s decision to halt the under-13 cricket trials at Abbottabad cricket ground to make way for his helicopter to land on Sunday.

The KP CM ordered that the trials be continued without disruption, after the district administration earlier forced the children to leave the ground so that CM Pervez Khattak’s helicopter could make a landing at the ground.

Boys aged between 10 and 12 had come from far-flung areas of the province, including Chitral, Upper Dir, Buner, Mardan, Swabi, Haripur, Mansehra and Kohistan, to take part in the under-13 trials being conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board countrywide.

Speaking to Geo News, officials from the PCB condemned the admin’s act saying that it went against the board’s policies. The policies suggest cricket grounds cannot be used for public gatherings or any such VIP acts.

The PCB officials said the trials were scheduled for Sunday as it was a holiday and the children had come from faraway areas, and they cannot postpone the trials to another date.  

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner of the district told media the trials were only postponed for the time being and not cancelled.

CM Pervez Khattak had come to the district over the demise of the KP government spokesperson, Mushtaq Ghani's, mother.