Pakistan players to participate in second season of ILT20

No player from Pakistan is playing in the inaugural edition

January 15, 2023
The previous PCB management had asked ECB for three million dollars in order to release their players — AFP

The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Najam Sethi has assured the vice-chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Khalid Al Zarooni that Pakistani players will be a part of the UAE’s International League T20 next season.

Sethi is currently in the UAE after he was invited for the ILT20’s opening ceremony on January 13.

It must be noted that no Pakistani player is part of the inaugural season of the event, which is currently being played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

According to sources, the previous PCB management had asked ECB for three million dollars in order to release their players for the league which didn’t go down well with the ILT20’s officials.

However, Sethi was able to end the bitterness between the cricket boards with the two parties set to work together for the betterment of the sport in the future.

The ECB will also support the PCB over holding matches in the UAE if needed.

Asia Cup in Pakistan

Sethi also met with Asian Cricket Council members and insisted that a meeting should take place soon regarding the Asia Cup — which is set to be hosted by Pakistan later this year.

According to sources, Pakistan will take a firm stance in the meeting, which is likely to take place in February, on hosting the Asia Cup in Pakistan rather than at a neutral venue.

It must be noted that, in October last year Pakistani cricket authorities hinted they may pull out of next year's World Cup in India, a day after BCCI officials said they would not send a team to the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan.

Jay Shah, who is BCCI secretary and also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, had said that India "can't" send a team to Pakistan, adding the tournament would be moved to a neutral venue.

His announcement caught Pakistan by surprise, with officials warning it could "split" the international cricket community.

The PCB said Shah's comments "can impact Pakistan's visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC Events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle".

The Pakistan board said it has not received any official communication from the ACC, and noted that hosting rights for the 2023 Asia Cup had been given to Pakistan under Shah's leadership.

Despite being considered one of sport's greatest rivalries, India and Pakistan have not met on home soil in any version of the game since 2012, and only play each other in multinational tournaments on neutral grounds.

Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.

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