'No problems in hosting matches in Pakistan' - PCB chairman confident of hosting New Zealand and England

Ehsan Mani, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, is confident regarding the upcoming tours of England and New Zealand in Pakistan. Since the last few days, there have been talks on the uncertainties surrounding the two tours. New Zealand and England will be touring Pakistan after 18 and 16 years, respectively.

The series is staged in the months of September and October ahead of the T20 World Cup. However, the Taliban’s take over in Afghanistan has raised concerns and created doubts over the smooth conduct of the series. The security officers from New Zealand and England are also expected to visit Pakistan to assess the situation ahead of the series.

Ehsan Mani, however, pointed that there are no issues in hosting the matches in the country. “Cricket is taking place [in Pakistan] and we have New Zealand coming in September followed by England in October. There are no problems in hosting matches in Pakistan,” Mani was quoted as saying by Times of India.

New Zealand players concerned over Afghanistan situation

New Zealand would go ahead with the series after clearance from security consultant Reg Dickason. Some Kiwi players had raised concerns to travel to the country for the series. New Zealand is scheduled to reach Islamabad on September 11 for three ODIs and five T20 Internationals in Rawalpindi and Lahore, respectively.

The New Zealand cricket officials appointed international security consultant and expert, Reg Dickason to carry out a security check and put his thoughts on whether the Kiwis should send their team for the series or not. New Zealand will miss their key players in the series owing to their IPL commitments.

“Dickason has been a regular visit to Pakistan to carry out security and other cricket related assessments for the International Cricket Council and other boards in recent years so we are confident there is no one better than him to give a compressive report on the security situation in the region following the events in Afghanistan,” an official source in the Pakistan Cricket board said.

Later, in October, Pakistan is all set to host the men’s and women’s teams of England for a white-ball series. England will travel to Pakistan for the first time since the year 2005.