Pakistan determined to disprove fears

Shoaib Malik was due to lead hosts Pakistan next month in the ICC Champions Trophy

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The Pakistan Cricket Board plans to use the scheduled Test and one-day series with India later this year to prove their capability of hosting the ICC Champions Trophy.

Pakistan still retain the rights to host the Champions Trophy after the International Cricket Council decided on Sunday to postpone the eight-team tournament originally scheduled to be held in Lahore and Karachi from September 12 to 28.

The ICC decision came after South Africa refused to send a team to Pakistan due to security fears, while several other countries were also considering withdrawals.

Security experts from the ICC and the PCB had declared the country safe for cricket, but independent security experts employed by countries such as Australia had declared that security measures were inadequate.

"The security concerns which exist now will be reviewed," said PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi.

"We've offered to make the series against India as a test case.

"The participating nations that have had security concerns have been invited to send independent security experts to review and assess the arrangements made for the series against India."

India play three Tests and five one-day matches in Pakistan in a series starting in December this year.

"We are very confident that things will get better next year and we will deliver a memorable Champions Trophy," Naghmi added.

Naghmi confirmed that had the tournament been shifted to alternate venue Sri Lanka, Pakistan would have boycotted the tournament.

"Even India had decided not to participate had the event been relocated," he said.

Naghmi said Pakistan would have suffered financial losses had the tournament been cancelled.

"All the money which we have spent so far on hosting the tournament has come from the ICC, so we have no losses there,” he added.

"But we would have lost a considerable amount which is given to the hosting country if the tournament was cancelled.

"It would have hurt Pakistan cricket quite badly."