England in talks about first Pakistan tour since 2005
The proposed plan would see Test team travel to Sri Lanka and a white-ball squad play in Pakistan
LONDON (Web Desk) – England could make a long-awaited return to Pakistan this winter, with talks between the English Cricket Board (ECB) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) well underway over a short T20 series in January 2021.
The proposed plan would see the Test team travel to Sri Lanka and a white-ball squad play in Pakistan, simultaneously.
Pakistan were one of four boards that sent teams to the UK this year in a feat that helped the England and Wales Cricket Board keep its losses to around £100m, rather than the £380m doomsday scenario forecast in the event of a fully wiped out season.
And now talks are underway for a possible three-match Twenty20 series in mid-January that would go some way towards repaying the Pakistan Cricket Board’s show of solidarity during a time of crisis.
An ECB statement read: "As with any proposed tour that takes place at this time, the safety and welfare of our players and staff is paramount.
"As such, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration, including the proposed protocols in relation to COVID-19 bio-secure bubbles, the proposed levels of security around the team, as well as the feasibility of undertaking this tour against the backdrop of an already busy schedule of international cricket for the England men’s team.
"We will be liaising with the PCB, and as well as other partners over the coming weeks to work through these considerations before a final decision will be taken in due course."
On the other hand, speaking with a private news channel PCB CEO Wasim Khan said, “We have received positive signals from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after we sent a letter to them earlier this week inviting England’s team to tour Pakistan in January.”
Khan also confirmed that a security inspection team of Cricket South Africa would visit Pakistan in November to see the arrangements being put in place for their team’s next year’s scheduled tour to Pakistan.
“We have taken another step towards bringing cricket to Pakistan and have formally invited England for a series of three T20s in Pakistan. I am in contact with my England counterpart for last few days and they’re considering our invitation,” he said.
“It will be very important series for us to improve our image as a host and we’ll do our best to make it happen,” he said.
However, Wasim insisted that this was not reciprocal to Pakistan’s summer tour to England in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic.
The PCB CEO said the crisis in Cricket South Africa would not trouble the team’s tour to Pakistan and series will go ahead as scheduled.
