'Night matches not advisable' - Zaheer Abbas

Zaheer Abbas, the former Pakistan captain, has requested the PCB and the government not to hold any matches at night in the country in light of the current security situation. Abbas offered his suggestion at a meeting of the sports ministry held at the weekend, and his comments follow the postponement of the Champions Trophy, which was to be held this month, after several teams pulled out over security fears.

Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 tournament, to be held from October 4-8 in Lahore, will feature night matches. "Well, my views are simple and I have told the meeting night cricket these days is not advisable because of the security problem," Zaheer told PTI. "My viewpoint is that in the prevailing circumstances, God forbid something happens in these night matches, it will lead to a lot of chaos, which would be bad for Pakistan cricket as teams are already not willing to come to here."

In March, Australia had earlier postponed their tour of Pakistan to 2009 over security concerns. They are currently touring India for a four-Test series but bomb attacks in some of the cities they're playing in raised the issue of the tour going ahead as scheduled.

New Delhi is the venue for the third Test starting October 29 but recent attacks in the city have raised doubts over the safety of the players. Cricket Australia stated that they would await a report from their security experts before making a decision on a venue change. Though the tour isn't at risk at the moment, Abbas felt another attack might lead to a pullout.

"The Australians appear satisfied with the security provided to them," he said. "But actually they are very much concerned about the blast in Delhi and I think if such an incident is repeated they will leave the place."