LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Managing Director (MD) Wasim Khan on Monday said that Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 would serve as a gateway to bringing back international cricket to the country.
“The matches of the next edition of the PSL, to be played at Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Rawalpindi, will restore the confidence of the foreign players and the teams in Pakistan and will portray an enhanced image of the country with security and other aspects suitable for staging international cricket in Pakistan,” he told the media at Gaddafi Stadium.
The PCB official said that prior to holding the PSL, Pakistan would be hosting two test series of the ICC Test Championship against Sri Lanka in September this year.
“I think this event will be a big step forward for persuading the foreign teams to visit Pakistan in near future,” he added.
Wasim disclosed that he was pleading Pakistan’s cricket case at the highest forums and cricket committees by using his expertise and personal relations with former cricket captains, players, notables attached with the game in various capacities.
“I will be travelling to England on August 9 to attend the MCC World Cricket Committee meeting to present Pakistan’s case,” he said, adding, “I have been specially invited by the committee to give a detailed presentation on security arrangements/measures, stadium and allied facilities of cricket in Pakistan and I am confident that the World Cricket Committee, which is a strong voice in world’s cricket will join hands with Pakistan for bringing back international cricket to the country.”
He disclosed that a proposal is under discussion with the MCC to send its team to Pakistan on a short visit to play matches.
“These are the confidence-building measures which will supplement our ongoing efforts for ensuring the return of international cricket to our country,” he asserted.
Wasim Khan said all the members of the committee who are former stalwarts of the game are eager to lend support to Pakistan so that it should come out of isolation as no foreign teams are visiting Pakistan for quite a long time.
He said that a high power delegation of cricket from Australia will be visiting Pakistan in September to assess security situation and arrangements being made for the safety of the foreign players and teams.
“This visit will be followed by visit of another such delegation from English and Wales Cricket Board in October and for us these two visits are very significant for narrating the ground realities of resumption of international cricket in Pakistan,” said the PCB official.
“We are confident that with such important visits, we will be able to plead our case in a positive manner and the foreign delegates will be reviewing all the security arrangements and allied matters by themselves than making up their mind and finally sharing their positive input with their respective governments and the ICC for taking into consideration of sending their teams to Pakistan in due course of time,” said Wasim.
To a question, he said that the entire edition of the PSL 5 being staged in different venues in Pakistan will take the charm of the event to the maximum and add festivity and extraordinary interest of the fans in every match.
“I think it will be a profit-earning aspect for the franchisers as well as for the PCB because holding of matches at a foreign soil always proved an expensive venture with major share of income spending on holding of matches and on logistics,” he asserted.
“Our main objective is to focus on ending Pakistan’s isolation in international cricket at home and we are making all-out efforts to see our cricket arenas full with audience with top-notch foreign teams playing in near future,” he added.
