PCB hopes presence of Hasan, Irish during PSL will break the ice

The PCB is hoping that presence of two key cricket officials during the PSL matches in Karachi should help in convincing at least sub-continent teams to play bilateral series in Pakistan and not in the neutral venue of the UAE.

According to an official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Nazimul Hasan and the chief executive of the Federation of International Players Association (FICA), Tony Irish will be in Karachi for the PSL matches.

"Nazimul who is also President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will be in Karachi from tomorrow till the final while Irish will come one day before the final on March 17," the official told PTI.

The official said the board had invited them and other officials so that they could come and assess if it is safe for international teams to play in the country.

Eight matches of the Pakistan Super league (PSL) are being held in Karachi for the first time since its launch in 2016.

"We have invited Nazimul Hasan because he is also heading the ACC and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are scheduled to play home series in Pakistan in the winter of 2019-20.

"Since 2009 all our home series have been held in UAE because of refusal by foreign teams to play in Pakistan citing security concerns. The PCB is hoping that with Nazimul Hasan staying for a week in Karachi, he will be in a better position to give feedback about the security arrangements and overall situation in Karachi and Pakistan after the PSL," the official said.

He said that PCB is hopeful that after the PSL it will become easier for the Bangladesh board to also accept Pakistan's invitation to play the home series in Pakistan and not in the UAE.

"And we are also hoping that positive reports will convince Sri Lanka to also come to Pakistan later this year," he added.

The PCB has also invited the ICC chief executive David Richardson apart from sending out invitations to other cricket boards to come and scrutinise the security and other arrangements in Karachi.

"FICA has always had apprehensions about allowing overseas players to tour Pakistan and we feel that Tony Irish will be able to see for himself that the perception about the security situation in Pakistan to the outside world is not correct.