Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Najam Sethi has declared that he will try to convince Australia and New Zealand to play in the country during 2018.
In a video message to outline plans for the new year, the PCB chief spoke about how 2017 had been a great year for Pakistan with the ICC Champions Trophy win among other things.
“Champions Trophy win was a greatest moment in our history. Beating India, what a wonderful day, what a great day,” Sethi recounted about the win at the Oval in London.
Chairman PCB @najamsethi hopes that the year 2018 will bring more success for Pakistan cricket. Here is what he has to say as we head into an action packed year, Happy New Year to all cricket fans.https://t.co/zzHMJVJQT8
— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) January 3, 2018
“We are now on track. We have achieved top position in T20Is and hopefully we will achieve the same in ODIs too very soon,” he added
Pakistan are due to host Australia and New Zealand in October and November this year in the UAE. Sethi is hoping to make use of this opportunity to get the two teams to play a match or two in Pakistan instead.
“I have already started efforts to try and convince Australia and New Zealand to play one or two matches in Pakistan,” he said in the video message.
The country saw the partial resumption of international cricket in the country after a long hiatus with the visit of the ICC World XI and Sri Lanka along with the final of the Pakistan Super League – all of which were held in Lahore.
2017 saw the ICC World XI play a T20I series in Lahore.
“We hosted the PSL final, then World XI team came and then Sri Lanka arrived and played in Pakistan. West Indies will come and play in Pakistan in March,” he said.
With three matches being scheduled in Pakistan for the fourth edition of the PSL, Sethi hoped it would spark a revival of international cricket in the country.
With Pakistan experiencing a resurgence in international cricket under Sarfraz Ahmed’s leadership, Sethi believes the team is capable of continuing that winning form this year.
“Last year was very good for cricket. PCB and our team have achieved a lot in 2017. It was the collective dedication and team spirit that we did well. We are on a winning streak and it will continue,” he stressed.
