Pakistan confident of hosting Zimbabwe in May

LAHORE: Pakistan are poised to host top-level international cricket for the first time in six years with a short limited-overs series against Zimbabwe next month.

Pakistan has been forced to play designated 'home' matches in the United Arab Emirates since March 2009 following an attack by militants on a Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore.

However, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) president Shaharyar Khan said he was assured of the tour by Zimbabwe counterpart Wilson Manase on the sidelines of an International Cricket Council meeting in Dubai last week.

"He (Manase) told me they are coming and they are coming with their full team, but for a week," Khan told reporters in Lahore.

"They will send a security team to assess the situation, following which they will confirm the tour.

"So they will come in middle of May and our efforts will be to host matches in Lahore and Karachi."

The matches would have international status and the ICC had also granted Pakistan special dispensation to use local umpires to officiate in them, PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad added.

The Sri Lankans were ambushed while travelling from their hotel to the Gaddafi stadium for a test match, in an attack that left six Pakistani policemen and a van driver dead while some players and a local umpire sustained injuries.

Afghanistan played a couple of low-profile series in the country in the period following the attack while Kenya completed a five-match one-day series against a Pakistan A side in December.