LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is holding negotiations with the Emi­rates Cricket Board (ECB) on June 26 and 27 in the UAE to settle their issues, arising from the Afghanistan cricket league being held in the month of October this year in Sharjah.

Also during October, as Pakistan are scheduled to host Australia for a full series in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the PCB fears the Afghan league matches being staged in the same month may hit the latter’s commercial interests.

Sources told Dawn that while the PCB is not against holding of the Afghan Premier League T20 event in the UAE, it is only concerned that the dates of the said league are clashing with its home series, which Pakistan has been organising in the UAE since 2010 due to security-related issues in the aftermath of the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore in March 2009.

The PCB may shift its home series from the UAE to Malaysia in case it fails to get positive result through the negotiations with the ECB, sources said.

The expenses in hosting matches in the UAE are already very high, making it almost impossible for the PCB to earn any profit from the series in the Emirates.

In contrast, it is learnt, hosting in Malaysia will be lesser in cost. However, long travelling and a weak cricket infrastructure there as compared to the UAE may create different sort of hurdles for the PCB in choosing the far eastern country as a neutral venue.

According to sources, the PCB may also opt to negotiate with the UAE authorities to reduce its charges if it wants to also allow Afghanistan to hold its league in Sharjah.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2018