Pakistan has proposed that the England and Wales Cricket Board hosts a one-day tri-series involving Pakistan and India next year, during the recent ICC executive board meeting held in Dubai. A board official said during the ICC meeting, Ashraf had held informal talks with heads of the other boards, including England and India and proposed that England can host a tri-series next year involving Pakistan and India.
“Ashraf’s contention is that the series would be a success in England due to the presence of the big Pakistani and Indian population in the United Kingdom and Europe and secondly it would also pave the way for proper restoration of bilateral ties between Pakistan and India soon,” the source added.
During the meeting, the President of the South African cricket board also made an offer to host an ODI series between Pakistan and Australia. “The South African cricket head assured his Pakistani counterpart that Pakistan would incur less expenses compared to if it decided to organize the series at some other neutral venue including UAE,” one board official said. He said while the PCB was keen to get international teams to start touring Pakistan again but was aware of the fact that it might be forced to play the one-day series against Australia once again at a neutral venue. “Since it would be the month of fasting and the weather will be hot during July-August in the UAE that is why Pakistan is looking at other alternate neutral venues as well,” he said.
Pakistan has been forced to play all its “home” series at neutral venues since March, 2009 when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore killing six Pakistani policemen and a van driver and wounding some of the visiting players. Dubai and Abu Dhabi since 2009 have become virtual home grounds for Pakistan which is currently also playing its “home” series against England at these two venues.
The PCB chief said he had assured his South African counterpart that he would get back to them after consulting his board members regarding the proposal. “South Africa is a viable neutral venue for us because of many factors but once I get back to Pakistan we will discuss this proposal further and see how it goes. We also have to consult the Australians about this,” he added. One source said that since the World T20 Cup would also be held in September in Sri Lanka, the Pakistan and Australian boards are looking at increasing the number of T20 matches in the coming series which presently includes five one-day internationals and a two T20 matches. South Africa has in the past hosted an edition of the Indian Premier League with success.
PCB chairman wants Amir back after serving ban: Pakistan cricket chief Zaka Ashraf Friday backed the return of spot-fixing convict Mohammad Amir after he serves his five-year ban, saying he was a talented fast bowler who had been “trapped”. “I want to see Amir back but only after considering the legality of the case and only after he serves the ban,” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf told reporters here. Amir, 19, was released from a British prison on Wednesday after serving half of his six-month sentence for his part in the scandal during the Lord’s Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. His teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are still in jail serving 30-month and 12-month sentences respectively handed down by a British court in November last year.
“Definitely we will rehabilitate Amir through an education programme, he is a young Pakistani, he committed a mistake and it was a case of huge talent lost and once he serves the ban then he could come into the team,” said Ashraf. Ashraf claimed Amir and the other two players had been “trapped”. “Whatever has happened we are sad about that, not only me but also most of the Pakistani people are sad for this young boy who, with the other players, were trapped by the Majeed brothers,” said Ashraf of players’s agent Mazhar Majeed and his brother Azhar. The Pakistan Cricket Board will conduct a rehabilitation programme for talented teenage bowler Mohammad Amir under the anti-corruption code, an official said on Friday. Amir, 19, was released from a British prison on Wednesday after serving half of his six-month sentence for his part in a spot-fixing scandal during the Lord’s Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. His teammates, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are still in jail serving 30-month and 12-month sentences respectively handed down by a UK court in November last year.
All three were found guilty of corruption and receiving illegal money. The International Cricket Council (ICC) also banned the trio for violating players’ code of conduct, with Amir receiving the minimum five year punishment.
“Further Amir has to agree to such additional reasonable and proportionate monitoring procedures and requirements as the ACSU may reasonably consider necessary.” “PCB and ICC are on the same page in this matter and are already in contact over the official anti-corruption education session,” Rizvi added.
Since the spot-fixing scandal, the PCB has introduced stricter clauses in players’ contracts in a bid to clamp down on malpractice in the game, and it has established its own anti-corruption unit.
