PCB Tough on Any Tournament Being Played in UAE From October to March

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been planning to slowly bring back international cricket to Pakistan after almost a decade.

However, this leaves them in jeopardy over hosting their games in the United Arab Emirates.

After the terror attacks on Sri Lankan players in 2009, PCB were forced to move their games outside the terror-ridden country. They have opted for UAE to host their home games ever since, as teams were reluctant to play in Pakistan.

However, Afghanistan Cricket Board had already planned to conduct a T20 league of their own in UAE later this year. With this move, PCB is set to take a tough stance against Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) by asking them for a written assurance.

The assurance would be that the board will not be hosting any T20 tournaments outside Pakistan from October to March window.

“We have sought written assurances from ECB that they will not host any T20 leagues from October to March that could create a conflict of interest with our bilateral fixtures with Australia and New Zealand and the Pakistan Super League (PSL),” a PCB official told Geo.tv.

Pakistan Might Move Their Home Games to Malaysia

The PCB is also contemplating over switching their home venue to Malaysia if no consensus is achieved.

“If they don’t give us these firm commitments then we will consider the option of moving our fixtures to Malaysia,” said the official. “We have checked their facilities, and these are up to the mark,” he added.

Let us hope that matters do not reach that level, as Pakistan managed to get in a decent fan base in UAE over the past nine years. It would be interesting to see how both the boards will react to the latest development.

On the other hand, Pakistan cricket team are currently on tour to the United Kingdom. They are playing in warm-up games and will soon feature against Ireland and England in Tests. They will also play against Scotland in a two-game T20I series.