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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) insisted on Sunday that South Africa’s tour of Pakistan will go on according to schedule even as speculations over the fate of next Monday’s final one-dayer in Karachi continue to grow.

A PCB official told ‘The News’ that the South Africans have decided to stick to the tour plan after initially showing some concerns following Thursday’s deadly blasts in Karachi.

“The tour will go on according to schedule and the last one-day match will be held in Karachi on October 29,” Dr Ahsan Malik, PCB’s Media Director, said.

He rejected as baseless reports which suggested that South Africa are unwilling to play in Karachi after almost 140 people were killed in an attack on attack on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s motorcade in the city.

The Reuters news agency reported on Sunday that the tourists have been shaken since the attack and team manager Logan Naidoo told reporters that a final decision on playing in Karachi would be made in the next few days.

“We are monitoring the security situation in the country on a day-to-day basis. We are waiting for feedback on the situation in Karachi from high-level Pakistani officials after which we will make a decision,” Naidoo was quoted as saying.

The South Africans had discussed abandoning the tour on Friday but agreed to continue after assurances from top level security officials and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Their captain Graeme Smith said the security situation was obviously at the back of the minds of the players.

“The thing is we have to manage on a daily basis and rely on our security guys to give us feedback,” Smith said.

A PCB official said the board would allow the South Africans to make their own decision on the Karachi contest.

“We know they are not comfortable about playing in Karachi after the tragedy. We will give them briefing soon. We have discussed other options with them including playing the final match in Multan or Lahore,” the official, who requested anonymity, told the agency.

The South Africans, who are currently in Faisalabad for tomorrow’s third one-dayer, played a three-day warm-up game and the opening Test of the series in Karachi earlier this month.

Source:Cricket News