Zimbabwe to visit Pakistan for the first time since 2015.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that they are not paying extra money to visit team Zimbabwe for the upcoming limited-overs series at the end of this October in Pakistan.
Pakistan is scheduled to hots Zimbabwe for three ODIs and as many T20Is in Rawalpindi and Lahore between 30 October and 10 November as the Men in Green will start their bid to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India automatically with a home campaign.
Well, PCB was so far forced to pay extra money to the visiting teams to play in Pakistan for the cricket’s resumption following the terror attack on a Sri Lankan bus in 2009. Though since hosting its Zimbabwe for the first time in 2015 following the attack, several teams except top international teams have toured the country and even overseas stars also started playing Pakistan Super League there.
The PCB reportedly issued USD 12,500 to every Zimbabwe player in 2015 and USD 250,000 to the West Indies team in 2018 while each member of the World XI received USD100,000 in 2017. The ICC also sent $1.2million to the PCB over the 3 years as part of its initiative for the resumption of cricket in Pakistan.
Read Also: Pakistan cricket fraternity hails Umar Gul as he retires from professional cricket
Following the successful return of international cricket in Pakistan, PCB has decided to not pay any extra money to any of the visiting teams, rather, spend on developing games in the country.
PCB CEO Wasim Khan stated: “We believe that was the right move then and was done to build confidence in the visiting players, the cricket boards and to help revive cricket in Pakistan. However, the PCB has moved on very quickly from this.”
He further added, “The need to entice international players to Pakistan by offering handsome financial rewards is now firmly behind us. Instead, the PCB will invest these valuable funds into our women’s cricket, upgrading our infrastructure, improving domestic and international player contracts, and developing world-class coach education programs.”
After Cricket South Africa confirmed that they will send a delegation to Pakistan next month for inspection and assessment for a planned visit in January, the PCB CEO revealed positive talks with England and Wales Cricket Board to send their team to play three T20 matches in January next year.
Khan further added, “The England and Wales Cricket Board’s positive intent for visiting Pakistan for a short three T20I series in January 2021 is a clear indicator that after the 2019-2020 season, international teams can feel very confident coming to Pakistan, fully aware that our safety and security provisions are robust and our hospitality remains second to none.”
He signed off by saying, “We have scheduled home series against Zimbabwe, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and England in the next two years. These series will surely provide the cricket fans and followers plenty of quality cricket, thrill, and excitement, which will be extremely pleasing and satisfying for us.”
(With PTI Inputs)