Pakistan to tour West Indies in July

WITH one eye on hosting India in August, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has convinced the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to play a full series in July, rather than splitting Pakistan’s scheduled trip to the Caribbean as was initially proposed.

Pakistan was scheduled to tour the Caribbean in June and July next year, but the proposed itinerary hit a snag when the WICB requested a postponement of the series by a few weeks to accommodate a triangular series with Sri Lanka and India, also scheduled for July.

It was recently reported that the PCB and WICB were contemplating a revised scheduled, which would be played over two legs, to allow for a window for Pakistan’s home series against India in August.

However, a source close to the PCB has confirmed that Pakistan will now be travelling to the Caribbean in July as planned for a full-fledged series, comprising two Tests, five One-Day Internationals and one Twenty20 International.

“There had been a suggestion to split the tour, but the problem is now sorted and our team will be touring in July as planned,” the source was quoted as saying.

“Pakistan is also very hopeful and keen that India can be convinced to come to Pakistan because India has made it very clear it does not have a policy of playing bilateral series in a third country,” the source added.

Pakistan recently resumed its bilateral cricketing ties after a gap of almost four years, with its national team touring India for a short limited-overs series.

The PCB is now hoping to invite India for a return leg.

“Presently, there is a lot of positivity in the relations between the two boards (Pakistan and India), and there is a good chance that India might listen to the suggestion of playing in August,” the source added.

Pakistan has not played an international match on home soil since March 2009 when armed militants attacked Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore.