The ICC is prepared to suspend its rules and allow
non-neutral umpires to oversee the matches so as not to compromise the safety
of ICC match officials, but it said it is up to participating teams to decide
whether a tour goes ahead.
"The ICC should be doing its utmost to convince the two
boards to postpone the series, not contemplating whether to amend its own rules
to give the series official endorsement," FICA chief executive Tim May
said in a statement on Friday.
FICA represents several national players' associations,
including Bangladesh.
Pakistan has not hosted international cricket since gunmen
attacked the Sri Lanka team at Lahore in March 2009 that killed six police
officials and a van driver carrying match officials to the Gaddafi Stadium on
the third day of the test match.
Bangladesh will likely finalize Lahore as the venue for next
month's proposed series of either three one-day internationals or two ODIs and
a Twenty20 international.
A nine-man Bangladesh security delegation — led by the
country's cricket board president Mustafa Kamal — visited Pakistan last week
and even witnessed a mock-up of how the teams will travel from the hotel to the
stadium.
Kamal said he was satisfied with the security and safety
arrangements and will talk to his government and the ICC about the proposed
tour.
But May believes that having received advice that Pakistan
is still not ready to host international cricket, the ICC should step in and
cancel the tour in the interests of the players' safety.
"The ICC has a duty of care to its stake holders — it
has a duty of care to the players of teams, the officials of teams and the
general public, irrespective of whether this is a bilateral event or an ICC
event such as the World Cup," May said.
"The advice was clear cut ... a cricket tour to
Pakistan by any team is not manageable and presents an unacceptable security
risk."
