Karachi ODI remains uncertain

Security has been tightened at all venues after the bomb blasts in Karachi © AFP

South Africa will assess the security situation in Karachi before any final decision is taken on the status of the last ODI, scheduled in the port city for October 29.

Twin suicide bombings directed at the motorcade of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto last week killed 140 people and injured hundreds. Bhutto was returning to the country after eight years of self-imposed exile.

"A South African security official will go to Karachi today to assess the situation on the ground there," Ahsan Malik, PCB's director communications said. "He is expected to report back tomorrow afternoon after which the situation will become clearer." One PCB official will also travel with him.

Various high-level meetings have been held between the South African contingent and local security officials, as well as the interior ministry. Speculation has been rife about the fate of the last ODI since the blasts. One report in Dawn, a leading English daily, said the game is likely to shift to Lahore, where the first two ODIs were played, though nothing has yet been finalised.

South Africa have already played a Test and a warm-up in Karachi, after avoiding it altogether on their last tour in 2003.