Najam Sethi confirms West Indies tour of Pakistan in November

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi on Monday announced that the West Indies team will be touring Pakistan in November this year.

Holding a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium here, Sethi said that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has accepted the invitation proposal to play three Twenty20 International matches (T20Is) in Pakistan this November.

However, the visit remains subject to security clearance by an International Cricket Council (ICC) sponsored security expert team, he added.

“Cricket West Indies and Pakistan Cricket Board are advancing discussions that will see the West Indies team play 3 T20 matches with Pakistan in Lahore in late November,” said a statement released by the PCB.

The PCB chairman has also confirmed that 15 players from seven different countries have agreed to visit Pakistan as part of the World XI squad visiting to play a three-match T20 series to be held in Lahore next month (September).

“The players from England, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have agreed to play the World XI tournament in Pakistan, however, India has declined to send its players to Pakistan,” Sethi said while addressing the media.

He said the World XI will be coming to Pakistan in the second week of September, adding that the World XI team will be announced in the next 72 hours. “Andy Flower will be the manager of the World XI team [while] rest of the names to be announced in 72 hours,” Sethi added.

The chairman further confirmed that Sri Lanka will also be visiting Pakistan in October this year. The Sri Lankan cricket board – on August 14 this year – had given a go-ahead to “at least one” T20 match in Pakistan.