Before the start of the main event in New York for the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America, security has tightened at the temporary Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
It also included positioning the police snipers at various locations around the ground. The 34,000-capacity venue at Eisenhower Park is scheduled to host as many as eight group games of the tournament, with the first of them being between Sri Lanka and South Africa on June 03.
The warm-up fixture between India and Bangladesh also took place at this ground, with the most block-bluster game of the whole tournament, between India and Pakistan is also going to be staged here.
Specialist snipers arrange New York’s T20 World Cup games
The Nassau County Police Department are preparing their best to ensure a smooth conduct of the competition, which will held between June 3 to 12 as they expect those games to pass off without any major or minor incident.
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This high professional security alert have come in the back of the pro-ISIS group reportedly threatened the tournament with an anonymous message, a week before the start of the world event.
It’s also understood that the security measures will include the SWAT teams with the specialist snipers, as the plain clothe police officers will be staying inside the ground during the course of the proceedings.
In a recent chat with the BBC with the authorities, it has come to known the officers from the force’s narcotics division who have been taken away from their regular services are given the job of attending the four drop-in pitches for 24-hour period, just to ensure that that those won’t be tempered by anyone in the middle.
The Nassau’s police troops have also worked in a partnership with the New York Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US department of Homeland of Security and the other agencies in the lead-up to the one-month long tournament.
‘The safety and security of everyone at the event is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place,” Reported the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a statement to the BBC Sport, during the T20 World Cup.
They also confirm of working closely with the hosts countries of the T20 World Cup and monitor the global landscape with different plans for a smooth process in the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup.
‘We work closely with authorities in our host countries and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event,” The ICC responded in the same statement.
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It’s also been informed that the park land during the game will be closed for the general public to counter the possible threat of the drone attacks.
The spectators who will be enjoying the game, will be subject to get searched and will have to pass through an airport style security scanner before entering the gate. The stadium has been built at a cost of around 30 million dollars but will be dismantled at the end of the T20 World Cup, with the land getting back to the Nassau County.
India will also face the co-host USA team at this ground on Jun 12, while South Africa will face the Netherlands and Bangladesh team on June 8 and 10 respectively. Ireland will also feature in a game against Canada on June 07, while the later will lock horns with Pakistan on June 11, as all the game will be played during the morning period.