LAHORE - Pakistan said Tuesday it hoped the West Indies would agree to play two Twenty20 internationals in the country in March despite security concerns.

No major team has toured Pakistan since a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009. They play their "home" series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Pakistan did host Zimbabwe for three Twenty20s and as many one-day internationals in May-June 2015. But that failed to convince the bigger teams to resume tours.

Pakistan Cricket Board executive committee chief Najam Sethi said he was hopeful the West Indies would tour for two Twenty20 games on March 18 and 19.

"We have invited West Indies for two Twenty20 internationals and their security team is due to visit Pakistan later this month, so we are hopeful of hosting the matches," Sethi told reporters.

Sethi said he believed the successful hosting of the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), a T20 contest, in Lahore on March 9 would pave the way for a West Indies tour. "We have decided to stage the final of PSL and once it is staged successfully that will open the way for the West Indies tour," he said.

Meanwhile, West Indies are considering to tour Pakistan for two T20Is in March this year, subject to security clearance and agreement from the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA), after receiving a proposal and security plan from the PCB.

"There is an offer [from the PCB] to play two T20 matches in Pakistan, subject to Players' Association agreement and security clearance," Roland Holder, WICB manager of cricket operations, told ESPNcricinfo. "The WICB has received a security plan from the PCB, which we have forwarded to our internal security manager, WIPA and an independent international security firm whom we have also engaged to provide a security report. WIPA and WICB are carrying out its own due diligence prior to making a determination as to the security situation since the safety of the players and staff is paramount. Once those reports are received a final decision will be made after WICB conducts a recce of the venues."

Over the recent ICC meetings, the PCB has managed to convince the WICB to consider visiting Pakistan. Lahore is likely to host West Indies for two T20s on March 18 and 19. The two teams will then move to Lauderhill in Florida for two more T20s.

West Indies allrounder Andre Russell had become the first high-profile overseas player in the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) to express a willingness to play in Pakistan. Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy had also said he would travel to Pakistan subject to security clearance.

FICA, the international players' association, however, said that the advice it has received concerning security in Pakistan is that travel to the country is still a risk for international players. FICA's comments came after the PCB said it would host the 2017 PSL final in Lahore, after conducting the league stage and the semi-finals in the UAE.

Tony Irish, FICA executive chairman, was still uncertain about the possibility of the PSL final going ahead in Pakistan.

"We are in the process of obtaining updated security advice on playing the PSL final in Lahore," Irish had said. "We don't expect much change in the advice previously obtained, but will await the updated situation and then communicate to players.”

 As previously pointed out players play in the PSL as individuals and therefore each make their own decisions on whether to play in Lahore or not. The security risks as communicated by FICA are a factor in their decision making."

Pakistan did try to persuade the West Indies to play three Twenty20 internationals in Lahore before their full series last year in the UAE. But the proposal was rejected due to security fears.

Efforts to persuade Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ireland to tour Pakistan have also failed in the last five years.