Sethi promises West Indies will tour Pakistan, with a caveat

PSL chairman says World T20 champions have agreed to play in Lahore after assurance of security

Pakistan Super League (PSL) chairman Najam Sethi on Sunday announced that World T20 champions West Indies are ready to visit Pakistan for a short tour but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs to assure them of fool-proof security.

“If the security condition is fine, then West Indies will play in Lahore,” Sethi told media at Islamabad United’s book launch. “And we will play two matches against West Indies in Florida in March on our way to tour the country, in return.”

“West Indies have agreed and have said that if you can convince us that the security situation is good for a visit then we will play against you.”

"If security situation stays okay, we will have matches with WI in lahore after the PSL" - @najamsethi announces at #ISLU's book launch pic.twitter.com/AOWs76xL88

— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) January 1, 2017

The head of PCB’s cricket committee said the onus was on Pakistan now to provide West Indies with adequate security.

“Now it is up to us to improve security conditions. If things are good, the final of PSL will happen in Lahore and the West Indies will tour also.”

Case against India

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said on Friday that the board will pursue a legal recourse against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for not honouring the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

When asked about his opinion on the matter, Sethi said: “We waited two years; the series was meant to happen last year in December and talks were happening about this year as well but they didn’t say yes. I told you that I told India in South Africa that we won’t be left with any other option than to go to court. Yesterday [Saturday], we announced that the Board of Governors has decided that we will go to court and we have started exploring all the options.”

He continued: “I gave an interview to an Indian publication too that we understand this to be a violation of the contract. I also believe that the International Cricket Council is also a part of it. We are consulting top lawyers in Pakistan to assess the strength of our case. We will also consult lawyers in England after that and if everyone assures us that we have a strong case, we will then go to court.”

Sethi then talked about the possibility of a Pakistan-India series; however, he added that a third team may be a part of it as well.

“If the tensions between Pakistan and India settle down, and if their government allows them to play us, then you might see both teams play each other. There is rumour of a tri-lateral series, and we are ready to play that even in order to break the ice. There is also a possibility that both teams player each other in a bilateral series on a neutral venue. So, a lot of decision will be taken in 2017.”