Islamabad: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is in talks with Australia and New Zealand for a possible tour here later this year.
PCB Chairman Najam Sethi said we are currently in talks with Australia and New Zealand who have a series coming up with Pakistan in the UAE or Malaysia in October, November and December of this year.
“New Zealand have said that they will consider our request, provided we think the security is OK. If that is the case, they may play one or two games in Pakistan,” he said.
He said if we can get New Zealand to come and play, then I believe we have a good case to make with Australia who could follow on the heels of their neighbours. “If both Australia and New Zealand come to play even one or two games in Pakistan, then by the time for our home series with England, we could persuade them to play in Pakistan too,” Pakpassion.net quoted him as saying.
He said Pakistan has to demonstrate certain things. “The security company nominated by the International Cricket Council (ICC), Eastern Star International, will come to Pakistan to have another look which is they do every time an international team wishes to come to Pakistan,” he said.
Sethi said the ICC security company come over and survey the existing arrangements and standard operating procedures to check that all is well. “If they are happy, then they send a positive report which creates the necessary conditions for a serious consideration for our request,” he said.
He said I had set a timeline of 5 years for myself for the task of getting international teams to come to Pakistan. “We are now one and half years down that road. In this time, we have had Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, the World XI and West Indies visit us in Pakistan and we have also had Pakistan Super League (PSL) players coming to our country,” he said.
