Pakistan capable of hosting T20 World Cup or Champions Trophy in the next five years: Ehsan Mani

The Sri Lankan Cricket team is currently in Pakistan for the 3-match ODI and T20I series. This is the first any full-member side has visited the Pakistani shores for a One-day series since those dastardly terror attacks, ironically on the same team in March of 2009. The ODI series was won by Pakistan 2-0 but Sri Lankan scripted an upset for the ages when they pip the No.1 ranked T20I side in the first match at Lahore.

Despite prominent Sri Lankan players like T20I skipper Lasith Malinga, Angelo Matthews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, and Kusal Mendis opting out of the tour of Pakistan, the tour has gone on rather well and is being seen as a crucial step towards the eventual restoration of cricket in the terror-savaged nation.

Pakistan capable of hosting T20 World Cup or Champions Trophy in the next five years

And, so encouraged by the positive response of the Sri Lankan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ehsan Mani is quite confident that Pakistan can host a T20 World Cup or Champions Trophy in the coming 5 years.

“We don’t have the framework today to have the World Cup alone. We can have a T20 World Cup or the Champions Trophy. I’m sure that in five years’ time we can have a T20 World Cup or the Champions Trophy,” Mani said, as quoted by Business Recorder.

The PCB chief also lashed out at the International Cricket Council of being biased towards the ‘Big-3’- India, England, and Australia, dispensing every major event to the aforementioned countries

“It’s extremely unfortunate that the ICC has dispensed every single major event to only three nations – India, Australia, and England. We didn’t challenge it when they were doing it because of voracity and lack of knowledge about how things work in international cricket,” said Mani

It has to be noted since, between 2011-2023, eight out of nine ICC events have seen will see the Big-3 play hosts. While the 2015 World Cup and next year’s T20 World Cup was allocated to Australia, England has played hosts to the last three ODI events [2013 & 2017 Champions Trophy, 2019 World Cup]. India, on the other hand, hosted the 2011 50-over World Cup and the 2016 T20 World Cup has also been allotted alongside the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2023 50-over event.

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