‘World XI expected to have Amla, Clarke’

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has said that top players, including Hashim Amla and Michael Clarke, were expected to be part of the proposed World XI which is to tour Pakistan in September.

During a conversation on Geo Super’s show “Yey Hai Cricket Pakistan”, Shaharyar said he hoped the team would feature top stars. He added that the Board was waiting for security clearance. “Andy Flower will be the coach of the touring World XI,” he said.

The chairman said he had “heard that Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke, along with New Zealander Luke Ronchi and Australian Tim Paine, are going to be part of the team”.

Shaharyar said that political uncertainty was a matter of concern since the players were still looking forward to security clearance from the government of Punjab, which is organising the World XI Pakistan tour.

According to the Board’s top official, the Punjab government has yet to respond to PCB’s request. “I have spoken to them but I’m waiting for a final word . . . so that we can make all arrangements,” he said.

The idea of World XI was floated by Giles Clarke, head of ICC’s Pakistan Task Team, after the success of PSL final in Lahore early this year. The team will play three T20 matches against Pakistan, all of which will carry the status of international games.

The chairman said that the team was likely to arrive in Pakistan on September 12 and stay in the country for around one week. “Initially, we discussed scheduling it in the last week of September, then the first week,” Shaharyar said, noting that it was after considering the players’ availability that it was finalised to take place in the second week of September.