Foreign team may visit Pakistan this year

PCB, government assuring Sri Lanka top-level security for brief visit.

LAHORE:

With the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Pakistan Task Team failing to bring back international cricket to the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the government of Pakistan has taken the initiative and is planning to attract a team by the end of the year.

The move to bring an international cricket team to Pakistan is an attempt to revive cricketing activities in the country which has been shunned following the attack on the Sri Lanka team in March 2009.

It has been learnt that President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also the chief patron of the PCB, has called his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa to send their cricket team. The move was planned at government level with the team being assured Presidential level security.

Accordingly to the information made available, the Sri Lankan team is willing to tour Pakistan subject to the players' willingness as most of the players were part of the squad that was attacked in Lahore and are, understandably, reluctant to return to the country.

The itinerary for the visiting team has been proposed to have them play a very brief series of limited-over spread over a single week. The PCB, meanwhile, has refused to comment on the ongoing planning due to the sensitively of the matter as in past the information regarding a tour has been used against the board's interests.

"It's a very sensitive issue and there are things that need the government's involvement," a PCB official told The Express Tribune. "Obviously we want the team to come and play and government can play a vital part by helping us to give us the required level of security to make the series happen."



Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2011.