India has slammed rumours suggesting umpire Darrell Hair was asked not to officiate at the upcoming Champions Trophy tournament because of fears for his safety.
Following Hair's involvement in last month's ball-tampering saga, India asked the ICC to prevent the Australian from umpiring due to fears his presence would incite crowd violence..jpg)
However, the latest murmurings, according to the BBC, from the ICC are that Hair's safety in India could not be guaranteed.
Despite the rumours, Indian Cricket Board secretary Niranjan Shah has slammed suggestions that the host country would be unsafe.
"There is no problem for any team or individual," he told the BBC.
"We would have provided full security. I don't know why the ICC has cited security concerns in dropping Hair."
Hair, meanwhile, has also pointed out that he has not received any threats.
"There are no security concerns in India. We have never said that Hair or any other umpire could face security problems," added Shah.
"We had only expressed concern about the controversy surrounding him which could distract attention from the tournament - nothing more than that."
"We have nothing against the man, but did not want any trouble during the tournament."
Hair is contracted to the ICC until the end of March next year but the general consensus of opinion is that he may struggle to keep his place on the elite panel of umpires.
"I don't have any problems umpiring in any part of the world," he said.
