West Indies refuses to tour Pakistan

LAHORE: West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) officials refused to send their team to Pakistan after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had invited them to play One-day International matches in the country from the series already scheduled in UAE between September and October, the PCB sources confirmed on Sunday.

Pakistan and West Indies are scheduled to play two Tests, five ODIs and two T20I matches. The PCB had requested the West Indies to play the one-dayers in Pakistan instead of UAE.

WICB, in a response to PCB’s request, said that their team will not be able to play matches in Pakistan amid vulnerable security situation.

According to reports, the PCB earlier wanted to seek help of two former West Indian cricketers, Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara, to persuade the WICB to agree and play in Pakistan.

Richards was the team mentor for Quetta Gladiators in the recently-held Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Lara visited Pakistan for a media assignment during the World T20.

Pakistan has hosted only one Test playing nation, Zimbabwe, since March 2009 when militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

After years of negotiations and backdoor diplomacy, the PCB was successful in convincing Zimbabwe to play in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium in 2015. Pakistan and Zimbabwe played an ODI and a T20 series during the tour.

The first edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL), which included international star cricketers like Shane Watson, Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Sangakkara among others, could also not be held in Pakistan due to security reasons.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of PSL, the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said he was hopeful about holding PSL in Pakistan next year or the year after that. But all of his hopes are directly linked with the willingness of international players to play in Pakistan.