KARACHI, Feb 4: Expressing that the Australian government did not permit its cricket squad to tour Pakistan for the limited-overs series due to security concerns, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt said on Wednesday that Dubai and Abu Dhabi will stage the series in April.

The latest blow to Pakistan cricket follows a decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday to relocate the 2009 Champions Trophy away from the country.

Ijaz met CA officials in Melbourne on Wednesday after attending a two-day ICC board meeting in Perth. He said he persuaded CA officials to play a few matches in Pakistan “but the proposal could not materialise.”

Ijaz told AFP by telephone that the Australia series was unlikely to take place in Pakistan in April.

“It [the series] is unlikely to be played in Pakistan,” Ijaz said. “We are discussing dates and venues, which I will let the media know when I return on Friday.

“I have had a very fruitful and cordial meeting with CA Chief Executive James Sutherland in Melbourne.”

He revealed that Pakistan’s ODI series against Australia will be held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in April-May.

He stated that CA was ready to play matches in Pakistan but the Australian government was not allowing them to travel to Pakistan because of some security issues.

On the (Pakistan-Australia) Test series, he said CA and the PCB were looking for a window because of the hectic international activities in June and July. “Our first focus is the ODI series.”

Regarding the ICC’s decision of shifting the Champions Trophy from Pakistan, Ijaz believed it was inevitable, saying teams like Australia, New Zealand and England were not ready to travel to this part of the world.

“Under the present circumstances, it was not possible to hold the [Champions Trophy] event in Pakistan. It was my wish it should have been held in Pakistan but the non-clearance of governments was the main problem in this regard,” the PCB chief said.

Australia have not toured Pakistan since 1998 due to concerns over players’ safety. They postponed a tour of the country in March last year after a spate of suicide bombings but agreed to reschedule the tour into two separate visits — a one-day series in 2009 and Tests in 2010.

Australia earlier refused to tour Pakistan in 2002 in the wake of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks. Matches were instead played in Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In anticipation of Australia’s latest refusal, the PCB had offered various venues to Australia — the UAE, Malaysia, Ireland and England.

Sources close to the board said Pakistan would likely play three ODIs in Abu Dhabi and two ODIs and the Twenty20 match in Dubai.

The games will be played after Australia finish their tour of South Africa in mid-April.

Responding to the question about Javed Miandad’s resignation from the post of Director General PCB, he said he will be holding personal meeting with him on his return to Lahore to sort out the matter.

“I am very fond of Miandad and fully aware of his greatness as a cricketer and his services to the country,” he asserted. —Agencies