Reuters

New Delhi, Sep 30: Security issues were not responsible for India's request to remove Australian umpire Darrell Hair from the panel for next month's Champions Trophy, Indian board secretary Niranjan Shah said on Friday.

On Thursday the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Hair would not officiate at the Champions Trophy on "safety and security" grounds.

"We never said security was a concern," Shah told reporters in Mumbai. "We could have provided full security.

"He is in the midst of a controversy. There could be some incident, maybe shouting from the crowd and the media will also be after him

"The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket) in India expressed concern about the controversy, nothing more than that. It is our responsibility to provide security to all teams and individuals."

Hair was at the centre of the ball tampering furore at The Oval last month when Pakistan forfeited the fourth test against England by refusing to take the field after tea on the fourth day.

Their protest followed a decision by Hair and fellow-umpire Billy Doctrove to penalise Pakistan five runs and change the ball for alleged tampering.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was cleared of ball tampering on Thursday but banned him for four one-day internationals for bringing the game into disrepute.

The Pakistan Cricket Board have written to the ICC saying they do not want Hair to umpire any future matches involving Pakistan.

Cautious

ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald said the world governing body was "very happy" with India's security arrangements.

"It was felt that it would be better if Hair was withdrawn from the tournament for his own safety," he said.

Shah said he did not want to comment on India's view of Hair's future as a test umpire.

"It is the ICC's prerogative," he said. "We'll see to that in future. I don't want to go into it now."

The Sri Lanka and Bangladesh boards, who have both backed Pakistan in the controversy, were also cautious.

Hair no-balled off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in a test in Australia in 1995.

"Now that Hair is not officiating in the Champions Trophy, there is no immediate issue on which we have to take a stance," the board's interim committee chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa told Reuters in Colombo.

"Pakistan had asked us for our support and we will discuss this with them if need arises in the future.

"But in general, we don't want to jump the gun as we feel the appointment of the umpires is best left to the ICC."

Bangladesh Cricket Board Chief Executive Officer Mahmudur Rahman told Reuters in Dhaka: "We think in this situation of controversy, this is the wise decision by the ICC.

"We always accept the umpire's decision is final in the field while we also believe if any umpire's decision leads to such a controversy, all avoidable options should be evaluated to reach a satisfactory solution."