Pakistan invites England team for T20s in January

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written a letter to its English counterpart to invite the England team to tour Pakistan in January next year for three Twenty20s.

“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,” a private news channel quoted PCB CEO Wasim Khan as saying.

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.

Meanwhile, the ECB has said that it is committed to doing what it can to help international cricket returning to Pakistan.

The statement also confirmed that it has received an invitation from Pakistan and would consider various aspects before reaching a final decision.

“After discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board, we can confirm the England and Wales Cricket Board has received an invitation in respect of a short white-ball tour to Pakistan during the early part of 2021,” said the ECB.

“As with any proposed tour that takes place at this time, the safety and welfare of our players and staff are 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 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.” It said.

The statement added that the ECB welcomes the fact that international cricket was returning to Pakistan and is committed to doing what we can to help this develop further.