PCB chief says lack of stadiums hampering return of international cricket

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani believes that lack of stadiums in other cities of the country is hampering the return of international cricket to Pakistan.

"We have certain limiting factors," Mani said, quoted Associated Press. "We need the other stadiums if we're going to bring all the matches back to Pakistan."

Speaking about the upcoming edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL), Mani expressed optimism that another successful season of PSL will encourage Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to return to Pakistan for full international series later in the year. "We'll be engaging with them earlier rather than later to make sure that they have the comfort and security that they require to be able to come and play in Pakistan," said Mani.

Earlier, the PCB chief also expressed their hope of England cricket team touring Pakistan in the next home series in 2022. PCB chairman is scheduled to meet the England Cricket Board (ECB) in Dubai in coming weeks.

“I expect England will be totally open discussing it further, but there’s a whole process they have to go through,” Ehsan Mani told Telegraph Sport. “When we play our next home series against England, they’ll have sufficient time to carry out their own assessment,” he added.

PCB, however, was unable to convince Australian to tour Pakistan the cricket authorities were forced to schedule all five one-day internationals against Australia in the United Arab Emirates after the Aussies refused to visit the Asian country over security fears.