Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, expects England - the men, for two T20Is, and the women, for two T20Is and three ODIs - will reach Pakistan on schedule in October and play their games on the due dates, reports ESPNcricinfo.
"England are meeting today to make a decision on whether they will tour Pakistan or not," Wasim said in a virtual press conference on Sunday. "We know what the guidance is, we know from a security perspective there's a clean bill of health. We certainly hope England tour. We certainly believe they should be coming and hope they will be coming, based on what the competent authority in Islamabad and the security expert (ESI Security) is saying.
"The same security expert who provided the guidance for the ECB to go to Bangladesh, six weeks after the bomb blast that killed 12 people [in 2016] - so there's a lot of trust put into this security expert who is understood and respected around the world. We certainly hope when the board meets, the ECB will decide to send their team to Pakistan for this short tour."
Wasim was critical of New Zealand's "disrespectful" decision to leave Pakistan because of security concerns, saying that they had left "at the drop of a hat and leaving us to pick up the pieces", but struck a more measured tone when speaking about England.
He pointed out that neither England, nor any of Australia, Canada or the USA - the countries alongside New Zealand that make up the Five Eyes intelligence network that Wasim said had tipped off New Zealand about a perceived threat - had changed their travel advisories to Pakistan in the previous few days. Besides, there was no indication of any dissatisfaction with the security arrangements Pakistan plans to have in place for the visiting England sides.
England to tour Pakistan, hopes PCB CEO
FE Team | Published: September 19, 2021 22:44:01
England to tour Pakistan, hopes PCB CEO
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