PCB chairman Najam Sethi confident PSL success will see cricket return to Pakistan

Barnaby Read 01:30 24/02/2016
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  • Sethi hopes the PSL will rejuvenate Pakistan cricket.

    Sethi, who held the same role within the PSL, has had assurances from government security officials in Karachi that the safety of players will not be compromised and believes that the first edition of the tournament can be the catalyst for cricket of substance to head back to Pakistan.

    The international team have not played on home soil since the 2009 Lahore attack on the Sri Lanka team bus and have played the majority of their cricket in the UAE ever since.

    And at the conclusion of the PSL, also played in Dubai and Sharjah in the emirates, Sethi cut a bullish figure as he stated that discussions with foreign stars have already begun about playing two fixtures of next year’s PSL in Pakistan.

    “The security apparatus in Pakistan, and in particular Karachi, have assured me that they would guarantee the security of a match held in the city,” said Sethi. “But if even the smallest incident happened we’d be set back a decade. We have to be very careful.

    “Kevin Pietersen and Dean Jones have expressed their willingness to play in Pakistan at next year’s PSL if we play there and I will hold them to their word.

    “We will try and play the opening game and final in Pakistan next year.”

    Sethi also claimed that the PCB has an available slot in September to play arch rivals India, a series first slated to be played in the UAE in December and then Sri Lanka before it was eventually canned as discussions with the BCCI and the respective governments collapsed.

    “We have a slot in September reserved to play India but it depends on their government,” said Sethi. “If the BCCI get the approval from the Indian government then we can try to play that series in September.

    “India owe us a series, at least two and they must play us at home before we play there. This is a board decision.”

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