Pakistan keen to host ICC events in 2023-31 cycle

Pakistan have offered to host global flagship tournaments after the International Cricket Council (ICC) invited expression of interest from its members for events in the 2023-31 cycle.

Pakistan last staged an ICC event in 1996 when it co-hosted the 50-overs World Cup with India and Sri Lanka and the country has been largely starved of international cricket since a 2009 attack on the touring Sri Lanka team in Lahore.

“The PCB has expressed its interest in hosting ICC events during the 2023-31 events cycle,” a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesperson told Reuters.

“We will work in line with ICC guidelines and look forward to submitting strong proposal in the coming months.”

Pakistan played their first Test on home soil since 2009 against Sri Lanka in December and have hosted Bangladesh this year.

ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney toured several member countries encouraging bids following the governing body’s decision to select hosts of future events through a bidding process.

“We are extremely encouraged with the positive response we’ve received for the 2023-31 cycle,” an ICC spokesman said.

“We have had close to 100 offers with 18 members showing interest in holding the 28 events proposed for the cycle.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s chief curator Agha Zahid and Haroon Rashid, Director – Domestic Cricket, will leave the PCB when their contracts expire. Rashids contract will end on April 31 while that of Zahid on May 31.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said the board will now use this opportunity restructure the National Cricket Academy and domestic cricket to create a different and streamlined high performance structure that serves the game and its cricketers in a more seamless way.

“Amongst many areas, the new system will focus on coach education and the assessment and re-training of our current elite coaches; in addition, the improved streamlined system will enable us to further bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket,” PCB media release quoted Khan as saying.

Rashid was re-employed in April 2017. Prior to his reappointment, he had served the PCB in various roles including chief selector, Pakistan senior and junior national teams’ coach and manager, head of youth game development and acting head of the NCA.

“In my latest stint with the PCB, I was particularly pleased with the way we planned, implemented and delivered the new but highly successful and competitive domestic structure within a very short span of time. This was a result of a complete team effort and I thank all my colleagues who got behind the new structure and supported me,” Rashid said.

“While I will continue to follow Pakistan cricket and pray for its progression, I will now focus on other priorities in life and try to spend some quality time with my family,” he added.

Zahid, on the other hand, had joined the PCB in 2001 after retiring from first-class cricket in 1992-93.

Agencies