LAHORE: Pakistan will host Asia Cup of emerging players next April with six top regional outfits, chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Najam Sethi announced on Sunday after chairing the development committee meeting of council here.

“All five full members of the ICC — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan — will compete in the vent while one team would be selected through a qualifying round,” Sethi, who is also chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said at a joint press conference which he addressed along with Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala, Sri Lanka stand-in T20 skipper Thisara Perera and Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed, a few hours before the start of the third and final T20 International at the Gaddafi Stadium.

“We do hope India will send their team to Pakistan for this event,” Sethi further said. “The staging of the tournament is another major development towards the returning of the international cricket to Pakistan. We will host the matches at two venues to be decided later.”

The PCB chief said the dates of the West Indies tour for three T20 matches series in Lahore would also be announced by next week.

Sethi, meanwhile, praised and thanked SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala, who is also the chairman of the ACC Development Committee, and skipper Thisara Perera for giving nod for this short tour of Lahore.

“It is a historic occasion for Pakistan that Sri Lanka are here to play and it will also convey a message to other cricketing nations that Pakistan are ready to hold the matches at home. So It is the beginning of a new era of Pakistan cricket and for that the PCB is extremely grateful to Sri Lanka for showing courage, bravery, wisdom and vision in taking the initiative,” the PCB chairman observed.

“Thisara [Perera] is the first cricketer who returned back to Pakistan to play this match and we welcome him from our hearts. Perera hit a fine six to enable World XI to win the second T20 match [in Lahore in September],” he said.

Sumathipala, in his address, said that he was happy over coming to Pakistan.

“We are always ready to play in Pakistan and our A, Under-19 and emerging team; will tour Pakistan,” the SLC president pledged.

“Sri Lanka fought against terrorism for 30 years and during those days Pakistan supported Sri Lanka cricket as it did not miss a single tour of the island,” he said.

“No cricketing country should live in isolation; weakening Pakistan cricket means weakening Asian cricket. Pakistan is a big cricketing nation which has produced a good number of talented players to the world,” he said.

Sumathipala reminded that Sri Lanka won their only 50-over World Cup title in Lahore in March 1996.

“The cheerful crowd of Lahore supported Sri Lanka against Australia as it was looking the final was between Pakistan and Australia,” Sumathipala said, who was then vice-president of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Meanwhile, Perera said he was delighted at visiting Pakistan again. He said though he consulted with fellow Sri Lankan cricketers, who were the part of that squad which toured Pakistan in 2009.

“They gave their personal opinions about visiting Pakistan. But they had also said people of Pakistan and the country are good.

Sarfraz also welcome the SLC president and his national team for touring Pakistan.

Besides Sethi and Sumathipala, other who attended the ACC Development Committee meeting were ACC secretary Sultan Rana, members of the development committee Mahinda Vallipuram and Zayed Abbas.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2017