KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has invited the West Indies team to play two T20 Inter­nationals in March on Pakistan soil and is in constant touch with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for the same.

Chairman Pakistan Super League and PCB executive committee Najam Sethi informed DawnNews that the PCB is trying hard to end the drought of international cricket in Pakistan and has been in talks with several cricket boards around the world. “We have proposed to the WICB to tour Pakistan between March 11 and 15 for two T20 Internationals on their way back from Australia tour which ends on March 9,” disclosed Sethi.

He further said that if the West Indies agrees to tour Pakistan, the PCB will ensure that the national team play two T20 matches in Florida on the request of WICB towards the end of March when Pakistan team will be on its way to the West Indies.

“The WICB came to us with a proposal first to play two T20s in Florida, before Pakistan team tours the West Indies, but we put a condition on it that the T20 world champions visit Pakistan for two games,” said Sethi.

He, however, said that the West Indies Players Association have reservations on security issues but “we are constantly in touch with WICB and trying our best to convince them.”

“We have told the WICB that the security situation has improved tremendously in Pakistan and the PSL final will also be played in Lahore, so there is no reason to refuse the tour to Pakistan,” Sethi said. “I believe that if the PSL final and the West Indies T20 games are held in Pakistan, it will pave the way for more international teams to tour Pakisan.”

Sethi also revealed that Giles Clarke, Chairman of Pakistan Task Force at ICC, will visit Lahore soon to assess the security situation.

Published in Dawn January 1st, 2017