GEORGETOWN: Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies in March 2017 is in no way a signal that the West Indies have decided to make a return tour to that country, a senior WICB official stated late Thursday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the WICB to consider playing three Twenty20 (T20) matches in Pakistan in March and they would then reciprocate with a tour of Fort Lauderdale in the US, to also play three matches.

The WICB has indicated that they will send an expert security contingent across to Pakistan to report on the security situation before they agree to send the team to Lahore.

According to the official: “Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies has nothing to do with our team going across there to play matches. They are coming here to fulfill their obligations under the Future Tours Programme (FTP) as set out by the ICC.”

“The PCB has invited the WICB outside of this to come to Pakistan. That would only happen if we are comfortable after our security checks and whether they can guarantee the players safety. The West Indian public must understand that we would not subject our players to any danger whatsoever. Proper security checks will be made and then we would make a decision. It is not a done deal, as a responsible body we will be very careful when it comes to making that decision.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned international cricket in Pakistan since the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus back in 2009. Last year Zimbabwe toured Pakistan for a series of ODI matches without incident, hopefully opening the way for a return for international cricket but it has not caught on with the other full members of the ICC.

Published in Dawn January 14th, 2017