PCB confident of convincing top teams to tour Pakistan in near future

International cricket returned back to Pakistan for a full series with Windies touring the country recently. Much to the delight of the fans, the hosts won the series convincingly with a whitewash scoreline. Now, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is confident of hosting other countries as well. The board is now aiming top ranked sides to tour Pakistan to restore the game in the country.

The recent reports in Times Now suggest that the PCB chairman, Najam Sethi, is very optimistic about the top sides touring the country soon. Prior to this Windies series, team Sri Lanka had toured Lahore last season for a T20I. Also, the World XI had played a three-match series in the country.

In the recent times, Pakistan has only hosted teams like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Windies. The top sides like India, South Africa, Australia, England, and New Zealand have not toured the country since the infamous attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009. Sethi remarked that the ICC officials would brief the concerned authorities about the satisfactory levels of security after the successful Windies series.

“The ICC meeting will be an important platform for us to talk to other board officials and try to convince them to send teams to Pakistan for bilateral series. The good thing is that Giles Clarke who heads the ICC’s Special Task Force on Pakistan Cricket will also be briefing the ICC Board members on the return of international cricket to Pakistan,” Najam Sethi quoted.

International cricket can be played in Pakistan

Speaking further on the same note, the PCB chairman remarked that Pakistan has been successful enough in showing the world that it is safe to play cricket in the country. The security arrangements in Lahore, and now in Karachi, have been very good. Hence, it should not take much time before the sport restores itself completely on the Pakistani soil. Pakistan are set to host Australia and New Zealand later this year in the UAE. The board might try to get a few fixtures in Pakistan again.

“We have gradually shown the world that international cricket can be played in Pakistan. From last year we now have two venues which can host any team with the required security arrangements, Lahore and Karachi,” the PCB chairman added further.

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