|
|||
|
Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has said he hopes Pakistan's ongoing
series against England in the UAE will be their last "home" series
played outside Pakistan. The PCB has been in talks with the Bangladesh
Cricket Board over staging a series in Pakistan in April, and Ashraf
said he hoped that would set a precedent for future home series.
"This England series could be our last series to be held at an offshore
venue," he told ESPNcricinfo. "We are keen to host international teams
just like other member boards are doing. We are already engaged with the
Bangladesh board and I am sure their tour to Pakistan in April will
break the ice.
"We are in contact with the [Pakistan] government as well and they have
given their consent to us hosting Bangladesh to start with. They have
given us their full support.
"Hosting cricket at neutral venues is obviously not our first
preference. It's tough for both the board and the team; our players do
miss the home advantage."
The Bangladesh board will send a security team to Pakistan to assess
whether it is all right for their team to tour there. The ICC has told
ESPNcricinfo it will send its own team to assess the security situation
in Pakistan before sending its match officials there for the proposed
series. After the Bangladesh series, Pakistan are scheduled to play a
home series against Australia in August-September 2012, and then one
against South Africa in October 2013.
Ashraf said the PCB was also continuing to discuss the possibility of an
India-Pakistan bilateral series with the BCCI. "I wrote several times
to the BCCI but have found out that the Indian government isn't giving
the teams permission to play. I have written to our foreign ministry
asking it to engage with India at a diplomatic level, so that cricket
can be played like cricket, without politics coming in the way.
"I am in talks with all the member boards, writing them letters offering
opportunities to talk about our mutual interests. I have received very
positive responses from all parts of the world, including from the ICC."
The Pakistan board is in the process of drawing up new contracts for its
cricketers, and Ashraf said the pay scales of the players would be
increased, something that has not happened for the last three years.
"The new central contracts, which will be finalised this week, will
offer increased pay scales for the players. This is because of the
wonderful last year our team has had despite everything."
The "everything" Ashraf was referring to was the spot-fixing scandal of
2010 that occurred when his predecessor Ijaz Butt was in charge of the
PCB. Though Butt was criticised for the way he reacted to the
spot-fixing scandal, and for other issues pertaining to the running of
the board, Ashraf said the PCB was functioning fairly smoothly when he
took over in October 2011.
"I don't think the house was out of order and this is why I haven't come
up with any sweeping changes. My initial observation was that there was
some communication problem and this is why we have formed a
co-ordination division. I don't see any problems now; the smooth
functioning of the board is ultimately reflected in the performance of
the team, and we are doing so well."
Pakistan lead the ongoing series against England 1-0 after a convincing win in Dubai.
No comments:
Post a Comment