The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to send a team of experts to inspect the cricket venue at Sharjah and the likely chances are that international cricket can return to Sharjah after eight years. The PCB team will assess whether it can host a Test during Pakistan’s series against Sri Lanka this year. A board official confirmed that the Emirates Cricket Board had sent a request to the PCB that they were keen on hosting one of the three Tests against Sri Lanka at the Sharjah stadium which until 2003 was a busy international venue.
“The Emirates board which is hosting our home series against Sri Lanka in October-November wants to organise a Test at the Sharjah stadium,” the official said.
“But we are not sure about the present state of the Sharjah stadium although the ECB says it is ready to host a Test match but we will be shortly sending our own team to assess the state of the stadium before we take any decision on it,” the official said.
The Sharjah cricket stadium enjoys the record of having hosted the highest number of one-day internationals and was also the venue for Pakistan’s “home” Test series against Australia and West Indies in 2002 when the two teams had refused tour to Pakistan because of security concerns.
But since 2003, when the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series had a fallout with the BCCI, no international game has been held at the stadium although it has hosted matches of associate teams and ICC qualifying tournaments. The ECB includes all the recognised cricket associations and clubs in the United Arab Emirates with the CBFS also being a member of the board whose chief executive is now Dilawar Mani.
