ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board and its West Indies counterparts have signed an agreement that guarantees a Twenty20 series each year in Pakistan and the United States for the next five years.
The rider being that all tours to the strife torn nation are subject to the security situation staying the same as when Pakistan hosted a World XI in September for three T20s, and Sri Lanka on October 29 in a T20.
The agreement is scheduled to kick off next March with three T20Is to be played in Lahore on March 29, 31 and April 1, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi said at a press conference in Lahore Saturday.
Sethi said Cricket West Indies had agreed to send a team to Pakistan for the next five years each year and Pakistan will go to the USA each year in return.
He also made it clear that this bilateral arrangement between the two boards was outside of the official future tours program of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“There has been a lot of speculation regarding Pakistan and West Indies series. I can confirm now that both the boards have reached an agreement under which we will play a T20 series each year for the next five years in Pakistan and USA subject to availability of dates and venues which will be finalised later, PTI quotes Sethi as having said.
He said the first series would take place with the West Indies board confirming they will send their full national side to Pakistan in March 2018.
“The matches will take place on March 29 and 31st and April 1st next year,” he added.
“This series couldn’t be held in November as earlier planned due to adverse weather conditions and we didn’t want to take any risk,” he claimed.
“The series in the USA will be a triangular series with Pakistan, West Indies and a third team to be finalised every year.”
Sethi said that both boards would now sit down and finalise a third team and the broadcaster for the first series in the USA in 2018.
Sethi said Pakistan felt it was financially viable to have a tri-series of T20 matches in the United States every year.
