PCB requests Australia, NZ to play T20s in Pakistan

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has requested Australia’s and New Zealand’s boards to send their teams to Pakistan to play their T20 matches instead of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).An official of the PCB was quoted by an Indian news agency as saying that during the ICC meet in Kolkata late last month, PCB Chairman Najam Sethi and COO Subhan Ahmad held talks with the Australian and New Zealand officials.The two boards have been requested to play the T20 matches of their series in Pakistan to help support the PCB in bringing back international cricket to the country, he said.Pakistan will host Australia for three Test matches and one T20 match in the UAE in October followed by a series of three Tests, five ODIs and three T20 Internationals in November against New Zealand.Last year, the PCB managed to convince the Sri Lankan board to send its team to Lahore to play the final T20 match of their series in UAE.Giles Clarke, who heads the ICC’s special task force on Pakistan cricket, submitted a positive report about international cricket returning to the country at the ICC board meeting in Kolkata.Pakistan’s security arrangements for the matches against a World XI, Sri Lanka, and then West Indies and for the Pakistan Super League matches held in Lahore and Karachi earned praise from independent security experts.Pakistan have to play a total of 29 ODIs before next year’s World Cup in England. They are keen to play at least a few of them at home.

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