Lahore final could pave way for World XI visit to Pakistan

The PCB is looking to build upon the momentum of a successful and incident-free Pakistan Super League (PSL) final in Lahore on Sunday, by hosting a T20 series in the country against a team of foreign players in September this year. It is unclear currently what the nature of the touring side will be. A senior PCB official said it would be a “com- monwealth ;I” but a report in the Guardian referred to a World ;I. Giles Clarke, the ECB president, and head of the ICC’s Pakistan Task Force, is a driving force behind the venture. He visited Pakistan in January and was given briefings on security arrangements for visiting sides. It was his first visit to the country as head of the Pakistan Task Force and he met with senior officials of the Punjab government to assess the security arrangements. He then gave a presentation on his visit at the ICC board meeting soon after. On Monday, he congratulated PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan on the “successful staging” of the PSL final, calling it a “tremendous achievement”. Referring to the series, he said: “Very well played. We will be there in September.” According to the Guardian, the team that will visit Pakistan is expected to assemble in Dubai on September 17 before flying to Lahore for the matches on September 22, 23, 28 and 29. Among the interna- tional players to play in the PSL final were Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Chris Jordan and Morne van Wyk, who travelled in bullet-proof buses to the ground amid high security. Sammy, who captained Peshawar Zalmi to a 58-run win in the final, spoke in glowing terms about the experience. “To me it was more than just a game,” he said after the match. “When you have not been in a place you always have your doubts. You get different views, different opinions. But I spoke to Javed [Afridi, the Peshawar team owner] and Shahid Afridi and they influenced my decision to come here. “The fans here deserve to see their players playing as they haven’t seen it for quite a while. I am glad I came here. Being here felt like playing in St Lucia, playing in India or anywhere else in the world. And like I said at the toss, today I felt cricket was the winner.” Source: Cricinfo