LAHORE, Feb 6: While confirming that the limited-overs series against Australia will be staged in the UAE, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt on Friday said he would speak to Javed Miandad soon before expressing his views on the issue of the former Test captain’s resignation as director general of the board.

Speaking on the forthcoming series against Australia, comprising five ODIs and a Twenty20, to be held from April 24 to May 7, Ijaz, who returned on Friday after attending the ICC meeting in Perth, Australia, said the two boards had agreed to play in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The first two ODIs and the Twenty20, he said, would be played in Dubai while the remaining three will be in Abu Dhabi. The PCB also expects some profit from the offshore series.

Asked to comment on the recent statement of CA spokesman Peter Young that the two boards were yet to discuss details of the contest, Ijaz said the boards in principal had reached agreement over the venues, adding it was a standard practice to talk about details before a series regarding logistics, pitches etc.

“CA was ready to send their team to Pakistan, but their government did not give them permission as their military is part of the allied forces fighting in Afghanistan,” the PCB chief said.

About the three-Test series against Australia, Ijaz said it had also been decided between the PCB and CA that the rubber series would be held in Pakistan next year. If it [Test series] was not be possible due to security concerns, he said, England would be the potential hosts. “I believe hosting Test matches in England will generate enough money for the PCB.”

Ijaz, who had left for Australia a day before Miandad declined the contract as Director General PCB, said he would meet Miandad after Feb 9 meeting with the Senate Committee on Sports, to resolve the issue.

“I have great respect for Miandad. He is one of the finest cricketers the world has produced. A player of his calibre has a great status,” Ijaz said.

“Miandad may have some reservations about the [PCB] contract offered to him. Let me take his point of view then I will be able to answer every question on this issue,” he stated.

On The Oval Test result decision, taken by the ICC in Perth, Ijaz said it was mere formality.

“Let me make it clear on the media that it was just a formality in Perth where the ICC Board endorsed its CEC and Cricket Committee decisions, taken in July 2008 [much before he took charge as PCB chief] about changing the result of the 2006 Oval Test between Pakistan and England, again declaring the hosts as winners,” Ijaz said.

The ICC, after a mutual understanding between the PCB and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), had reverted The Oval Test decision in 2007, declaring it as abandoned, denying England victory.

However, later, the decision was referred to the ICC Cricket Committee, which in its recommendation refused to accept the change, claiming no rule of cricket allows it.The chairman said though the PCB tried to defend the early change in the (Oval Test) decision, the other recommendations of the MCC given in December 2008 went against the PCB, too. Under the ICC rule 23.1, once the scorebook closes after the match, no rule can change the result of a match.

Meanwhile, according to the minutes of the CEC meeting held in July 2008 the Cricket Committee in its recommendations says: “The Cricket Committee consulted the matter at its last meeting and unanimously agreed to recommend to the CEC and Executive Board that the result remained unaltered.”

The chairman also claimed that a former Pakistan Test cricketer (without mentioning the name) also played a very negative role which went against the PCB in defending the early [Oval] decision.

On shifting of the ICC Champions Trophy from Pakistan, Ijaz revealed as three countries were reluctant to play in Pakistan due to their security concerns, the ICC moved the eight-nation event from Pakistan as it could not postpone it again. The PCB, however, would get the tournament’s hosting fee – around $6 million – from the ICC, he said.

The chairman stressed that the PCB was not in a position to counter the ICC decision (of the Champions Trophy shift), since, he added, it was the supreme body and major portion of the board’s revenue came from it.

On the ban faced by the players associated with the breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL), Ijaz said the PCB had asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to guide it about the fate of the players, but the Sindh High Court had removed the ban last Monday.

Asked about the fate of the ICL players after the SHC decision, Ijaz said the PCB had contacted the ICC and its lawyer would guide the board on Monday.

Under the ICC guidance the PCB lawyer would appear before the SHC on Tuesday to take part in the hearing further. Asked whether he backed removal of the ban on ICL players, Ijaz said he still supported it, however, added that the PCB could not bypass the ICC.