PCB Chief Najam Sethi vows to bring cricket back to Pakistan

Pakistan’s newly elected cricket chief Najam Sethi ensured the fans on Wednesday to bring international competition back to the terror-ridden nation after years of isolation. Sethi made the promise after being elected chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for a three-year term. Sethi has succeeded PCB’s former chairman Shahryar Khan for the top post.

Fans need to be patient

The new chief, whose first term as chairman in 2013 was hit by court wrangling, said bringing international cricket back to Pakistan would be a challenging but it is the priority. “We need to show patience because it is related to the security situation in the country,” Sethi told media. Barring a limited-over series against Zimbabwe in 2015, Pakistan has not hosted foreign squads since a militant attack targeted the visiting Sri Lankan team in 2009.

Sethi said he hoped the planned World XI tour next month would encourage more such events in the cricket loving nation. The event has been seen as a bid to bring back cricket to Pakistan. “We hope to bring a World XI for a three-match Twenty20 series and the next two-three months will bring more good news,” said Sethi.

Hopeful of Indo-Pak contest

The 69-year old chief said he will also attend an Asian Cricket Council meeting in Colombo Saturday where he hopes to persuade Sri Lanka to send their team to Pakistan. “We have invited Sri Lanka to play a few matches after their series with us and I will try to get a reply to that invitation,” said Sethi. He also expects India and Pakistan to hold on to the good bond and resume cricket soon.

Pakistan is likely to play a 2-Test match series followed by a bilateral ODI series along with a short T20I series against Sri Lanka in September-October. The venue is expected to be Dubai, Pakistan’s adopted home venue since 2009.