NEW DELHI, March 18: Indian cricket team could tour Pakistan as early as December, for the second time in two years, to play three Tests and five One-day Internationals, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar M Khan said on Friday. “It (the return tour by India) may even be in the end of December -but basically (they would tour in) January-February,” he said. “We are just going to work out the dates,” said Shaharyar Khan, in New Delhi to attend the International Cricket Council’s executive board meeting.
India had toured Pakistan, for the first time in almost 15 years, in March-April last year for a highly successful three Tests and five one-dayers. Pakistan team is now in India to play three Tests and six One-Day Internationals. Shaharyar said India could pay a return visit as early as December and latest by January for the same number of matches because the two countries play on reciprocal basis.
Although Pakistan are playing an extra one-day in India, he said PCB would not insist on six one-dayers. “We have to understand India’s problem, which is that they have to get back to face England (at home). So we would like to have six One-Day Internationals, but we will not insist on the figure,” he said.
“We are looking forward to that,” said former Pakistan foreign secretary. “I think we have to make up for the previous two decades when we were not able to tour each other; once in a blue moon we toured and then it was put off.” He was referring to the severance of cricket ties between the two countries due to various reasons including wars, Kashmir and the Kargil conflict of 1999.
The cold war ended with India’s tour of Pakistan last year for the first full-fledged series on Pakistani soil since 1989. “We have got lots to make up. Lots of people feel this making up should take place now,” said Shaharyar, who is related to former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.—PPI
