No plans to tour Pakistan in near future: Sutherland

Despite the International Cricket Council (ICC) pushing for more international cricket in Pakistan, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has ruled out the possibility of his side touring the country in the near future.

In the wake of ongoing tour of a World XI, which is playing three-match T20I series, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson had said that the Independence Cup would send a positive message across the world that it is safe to play in Pakistan.

He further assured that if security measures in Pakistan continue to remain adequate, then the country would surely host the ICC events in the future.

Heaping praise over the efforts of the security agencies in providing top-notch security for the Independence Cup, the ICC chief executive had also said that they would continue to financially assist the security company which is looking after the events in Pakistan for three more years.

However, Sutherland remained doubtful about the possibility of Australia visiting Pakistan in October 2018 when the two teams are slated to face each other.

"I don't see in the short term there are any plans for us to play in Pakistan," Sport24 quoted Sutherland, as saying.

It should be noted that no Test side has toured Pakistan since March 2009 militants attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore, killing six Pakistani policemen and injuring some of the visiting players.

However, low-ranked sides, namely Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, had toured the country for a limited-over series.