Brushing aside apprehensions about Pakistan-India series, head of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) executive committee Najam Sethi said he was sure that series between arch-rivals would be held at a neutral venue by all means.
“Im saying this on the basis of my experience that the series between the two countries is sure to be held in UAE or at some other neutral venue,” he told a sports TV channel.
Pakistan and India are scheduled for a full series comprising three Tests, five ODIs and two T20 internationals in the UAE in December, this year.
Sethi, who was PCB chairman when the MoU was signed between the two boards to play six series between 2015 and 2022 with four of them being hosted by Pakistan, said millions of dollars were involved in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the December series.
He said that Pakistan-India series was popular all over the world and it was by no means less important than Ashes between England and Australia.
When asked that secretary Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Anurag Thakur had recently stated the series would not go ahead, Sethi said Anurag was not a professional player but a politician and such statements were not surprising from him.
Sethi, who has arrived back in the country on Tuesday after touring UAE and Qatar, where he held key meetings with sports’ officials of those countries for holding Pakistan Super League (PSL), said he was hopeful that the lucrative T20 series would begin in April, next year. “We have visited Qatar after UAE. The members of Qatar Olympic Committee have expressed keen enthusiasm on the matter of holding PSL there.”
He said Pakistan had broadcasters and sponsors to stage PSL adding that the series would benefit all including sponsors, players and corporate sector.
It may be mentioned here that inaugural PSL season was set to begin on March 26 2013 but has since then been postponed due to tight playing schedules world over and the subsequent non-availability of international players.
“The PCB is trying to make PSL a financially rewarding experience for players, who will be signed on by different franchises”, a PCB spokesman told APP on Wednesday.
He said that the board was planning three categories A, B and C for players. “Players in A category will get at least 100,000 US dollars, those in B category 60,000 dollars and that of C category 40,000 dollars.”
He said that the A category would include top playing cricketers, B category would include players who remain in and out of international cricket, while C category would include some retired players. “Payments will be made on the basis of number of matches played by a cricketer in the league,” he added.
“It is also being considered to have each franchise include a certain number of Under 19 players and top domestic performers in their outfits besides hiring four to five overseas players in each team,” he added.
He revealed that talks were being made with agents for some leading foreign players but one issue facing the board was to see which players would be available. (APP)
