PCB chairman Ehsan Mani confirms no financial incentives to teams touring Pakistan 

The PCB has previously had to expend a lot of money to convince teams touring the country.

Sri Lanka will play in Lahore and Karachi | Getty

Pakistan Cricket Board won't anymore be looking to achieve "short-term goals" by offering financial incentives to teams touring Pakistan for matches amidst security issues, said chairman Ehsan Mani. 

The board's objective is to build trust and confidence in the security arrangements that it provides for long-term benefits. 

"Transparency and merit are very important aspects for me," ESPNcricinfo quoted Mani as saying ahead of Sri Lanka's visit for T20I and ODI series in Karachi and Lahore, respectively, from September 27 onwards.  "Whoever wants to come to Pakistan, we will welcome them wholeheartedly. But whoever is coming for money, his commitment isn't for Pakistan."

"So what is more important for us is to mollify everyone [and tell them] that Pakistan is a safe country. With money, we can attain short-term goals, but we want to build a solid foundation to make a longer-term impact for the sake of the betterment of Pakistan cricket."

The ODI series versus Sri Lanka is to be noted as Pakistan's first at home since the Zimbabweans played 50-over games at the Gaddafi stadium in 2015. Apart from that, the only high-profile games to be played in Pakistan post-2009 - when the Lahore terrorist attack happened - have been T20Is or Pakistan Super League matches. 

"We have been working for long now and the PSL games did a lot to help us," Mani said. "This year in PSL, 32 to 35 overseas players came, and they all came out of their own interest."

"Their only complaint was about having too much security cover; they wanted to go out and socialise with free movement, but it was a constraint put up by our security officials."

"They wanted to assure [the players of] security and make them comfortable to start with. That's why they were escorted everywhere with security," he concluded. 

(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 25 Sep, 2019

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