Hyderabad cops ensure safety of Pakistan team despite being occupied with immersion duties

The Pakistan team is being given tightest of security by the Hyderabad police, even as the officials are having to stretch themselves due to the festivities around the Ganesh idol immersion.

Hyderabad: Providing security to any visiting international cricket team is quite a task and doing it smoothly is a matter of pride for security officers across India. One can only imagine how big a task it is to provide proper security to a visiting Pakistani cricket  team, which is currently in India for the upcoming World Cup.

The team which landed in Hyderabad on Thursday is being given tightest of security by the Hyderabad police, even as the officials are having to stretch themselves due to the festivities around the Ganesh idol immersion that coincides with warm-up games of the World Cup.

---

Security officials in the city are working overtime to ensure a smooth stay for the Pakistan cricket team, which is visiting India after seven years. However, due to the same reason, Pakistan’s opening warming-up game on Friday will be played without spectators as the police cannot provide adequate security.

The squad arrived at the stadium on Thursday with six police vans part of the cavalcade. The team buses of Pakistan and New Zealand exited the stadium together.

Nothing is being left to chance even in the team hotel.

While the warm-up game on Friday will require around 200 Police personnel at the stadium, the number will go up to 800, when spectators return for the next warm up game on October 3.

“The team is fully satisfied with security whether it is at the stadium or at the hotel,” said a PCB source.

As part of the BCCI’s last minute schedule change, Hyderabad is forced to host back to back games on October 9 and 10, pushing more pressure on the stretched resources of police.

The Babar Azam-led team got a roaring welcome at the Hyderabad airport on Wednesday before it was taken to the team hotel in the heart of the city amid tight security. The team will be here for almost two weeks.