The T20 World Cup in the Americas has received a terrorist threat, Trinidadian Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has revealed, even as the ICC said a “comprehensive and robust security plan” is in place to “mitigate any risks” to departure from June 1st. The tournament – featuring 20 teams, including India – is spread across nine venues, six of them in the West Indies.
As of now, the threat, according to media reports, is specific to the West Indies, which in addition to some preliminary matches, will host the entire Super 8 stage along with the semi-finals and the final on June 29.
“Unfortunately, the threat of terrorism in its many and varied expressions is an ever-present danger in the 21st century world,” Rowley said here, as quoted by the ‘Trinidad Daily Express’.
Rowley did not name any organization, but reports here state that the Islamic State made the threat through its propaganda channel.
The ICC responded to the development with a statement guaranteeing preparedness.
“The safety of everyone attending the event is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place,” a spokesperson for the global body said in a statement issued to PTI.
“We work closely with authorities in our host countries and continually monitor and assess the global landscape to ensure that there are appropriate plans in place to mitigate any risks identified at our event.” Rowley said “extra effort in national security preparations and response readiness” will be made to neutralize the danger.
“Given the fact that bad actors can choose to behave badly in any way possible, it becomes virtually impossible to completely block all opportunities,” he said.
“However, to mitigate these dangers, we, at the local and regional level, have remained alert to many threats and, alone or together, have our intelligence services and other security agencies working to protect the population in countries and at venues during the tournament,” he said. added.
The West Indies World Cup games will be held in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago. The US leg will feature games in Florida, New York and Texas.
New York will host the clash between India and Pakistan on June 9.
Cricket West Indies said everything is being done to ensure foolproof security at the mega event.
“We work closely with authorities in host countries and cities and continually monitor and assess the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified at our event,” CWI CEO Jonny Graves told the ‘ Cricbuzz’.
“We want to assure all stakeholders that the safety of everyone at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is our number one priority and that we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place,” he added.
BCCI response
Speaking about the development, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla told ANI, “As far as the threat is concerned, the security responsibility lies with the security agencies of the country hosting the game. All precautions will be taken. We will take all necessary measures for the safety of players and spectators. We will talk to the bodies responsible for holding the World Cup. We will follow the decision taken by the central government. We will contact the WI and US governments. All precautions will be taken. We will contact the ICC to take all necessary measures.”
#TO ATTEND On the issue of terrorist threat to the 2024 T20 World Cup, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said, “As far as the threat is concerned, the responsibility for security lies with the security agencies of the country hosting the game. All precautions will be taken. pic.twitter.com/M9iFDc3x7E
-ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2024
With ANI inputs
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