PCB chairman Najam Sethi hopeful of Indo-Pak bilateral series in the near future

The upcoming third edition of the Pakistan Super League will provide a major boost to the country’s cricketing landscape. The tournament comes as an important development in Pakistan’s effort to revive international cricket in the nation. Countries have rejected from touring the war-ravaged nation after a terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009. However, with the advent of PSL, a plethora of international stars have graced the subcontinent nation.

Albeit so many constraints, the Pakistan board has tried every avenue to get back the frenzy surrounding cricket back to the country. However, the sour political relations between India and Pakistan imply that no bilateral series be played amongst the nations. The Indian government has also shown a no resilience policy towards their neighbours.

Contradicting the political notion, PCB chairman Najam Sethi believes that the Indian government will come around soon and ‘see the wisdom of not playing politics with the game that people of both the countries love.

In an exclusive interview with Sportstar on Saturday, Sethi said, “I am confident that sooner rather than later the Indian government will see the wisdom of not playing politics with the game that both Indians and Pakistanis love.” He added, “The ball is in the court of the Indian government. It is reportedly stopping the BCCI from honouring its contract with PCB to start bilateral cricket. We shall review our options as the situation unfolds.”

PCB to make Malaysia an alternate venue for Dubai

UAE has become Pakistan’s makeshift home, hosting all their international home matches. In addition to that, Dubai hosted the last two editions of PSL and will be home for the third season as well.

Thus, with a number of fixtures lined up in Pakistan’s schedule, the board is looking at Malaysia as an alternate venue to Dubai. The decision comes because the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) is planning to host a couple of leagues whose schedules may pose a conflict of interest with our Future Tour Programmes (FTP) and PSL.