LAHORE
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar M Khan Wednesday said that arch-rivals Pakistan and India would play six tournaments in the next eight years.
Speaking at the press conference held here at the PCB headquarters, the PCB chairman expressed the hope that Pakistan team would be playing against India as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BCCI. However, he said, it depended on the clearance from the Indian government.
As per the MoU signed between two boards, Pakistan and India would play six series in eight years and the first would be Pakistan’s home series that will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the MoU, Pakistan and India are scheduled to play 12 Tests, 30 ODIs and 11 Twenty20s spread over six series with the first one scheduled in coming December. Pakistan defeated India in their home soil when two arch-rivals last played a series in December 2012-January 2013.
He said the PCB was in touch with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for Pakistan’s coming tour. “The teams like the Netherlands and Ireland are interested to play series against us in Pakistan. We wanted them to play against Pakistan A team but they are interested only playing against the national team. As our national team is busy and we look into the available window in the future," the PCB chief added.
Shaharyar said Pakistan team was on right track for the quarter-final berth. "If Pakistan team can beat teams like South Africa, it can beat anyone," he told reporters on his return from India after meeting with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thukar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
He admitted that Pakistan team came under severe criticism after losses against India and the West Indies which, he said, was right but things had changed after they started winning.
He said the team was now united and achieving good results on their way to the knock-out rounds. “It is same like in 1992 World Cup when Pakistan started in an indifferent fashion.”