KARACHI: That explains it. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani has answered the poser put out by SportzPower when it was first reported that the PCB was among the boards to have responded to the International Cricket Council’s call for Expressions of Interest (EoIs) to host ICC events in the next cycle of 2023 to 2031.
Mani has revealed that the PCB is planning to launch a joint bid for five to six ICC events along with its counterpart from the UAE, and is hopeful of winning at least one or two of those.
“We had expressed an interest to host five to six events and, frankly, it is likely we won’t be getting more than one or two. But we also thought out of the box to bid jointly with another country,” Mani said in a PCB podcast.
“I have already begun speaking with the Emirates Cricket Board for a team-up to increase the chances of hosting some of it together but, again, it needs cooperation.”There are a few events with 16 games and then there are events with 30-40 games, so depending on the scale, the workload can be divided between us.”
Mani added: “It is very important for Pakistan cricket and its development that some of the ICC events are played in Pakistan.
“We intend to make a very serious expression of our interest on this matter and we will be getting full government support as well.”
Returning to SportzPower’s posers, while acknowledging Pakistan’s cricketing pedigree, this website had drawn attention to both the PCB’s strained financial position as well as the fact that the country was a no go for world cricket’s Big Daddy BCCI. A joint bid would resolve the question of where the Indian team would play, at least before the knockout stages.
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