Don’t hold any matches between October-March, Sethi warns UAE

PCB chairman says board has no problem with anything happening before September

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi has warned the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to not hold any leagues between October and March, saying that if they do not comply to these demands, the PCB will shift their home venue from the UAE to Malaysia.

The PCB chairman also highlighted that, while this demand has been accepted verbally, the board has also sought a written reply from them.

“If any leagues are held in the UAE between October to March, we will be forced to shift our home venue from the UAE to Malaysia,” said Sethi, while talking to Daily Express. “We have agreed verbal terms with the Emirates board but we require a written response from them as well.”

This response came after Afghanistan announced to hold their own T20 league, the Afghanistan Premier League, in the UAE in October and Sethi said that, given the busy schedule Pakistan have, it does not sit well with the cricket board to allow UAE venues to be used while Pakistan’s cricket season is under way.

“I have no problem with them holding events before September, but the Asia Cup will be held in September followed by series with Australia and New Zealand in October, while January and February will remain busy followed by the Pakistan Super League (PSL), so we just do not want anything to interfere with our cricket calendar,” he said.

Sethi further highlighted that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is also wary of the number of T20 leagues popping up and is already working to devise a plan to regulate the calendar.

“The ICC also has taken notice of the number of leagues coming up and soon a policy pertaining to it will be formulated,” he said.

And Sethi warned that if their demands are not met, then the PCB would be forced to shift Pakistan’s home venue to Malaysia.

“If our demands are not met, we will shift our home venue to Malaysia,” he said.

Keeping in mind the number of leagues coming up, Sethi said that he will talk to the franchises before issuing any NOCs to the players to take part in the upcoming T10 league.

“We have no issues with players playing for other leagues as long as our domestic and international calendar is not disturbed. We are mulling a policy where centrally contracted players will be limited to representing only two leagues, while I will also talk to the PSL franchises before we issue NOCs for players to take part in the T10 league,” he said.