Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is furious over the delays in finalising the schedule for the three-match Test series between England National Cricket Team and Pakistan National Cricket Team.
The England National Cricket Team has already announced the squad for the Test tour to Pakistan and captain Ben Stokes will return to action alongside Zak Crawley, while the likes of Rehan Ahmed, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope and Joe Root, who defeated Pakistan in the 2022 Test series, are travelling to the country again.
Pakistan was scheduled to host England for the first Test match on October 7 in Multan, the second Test match in Karachi on October 15 and the final match in Rawalpindi on October 24. However, due to the ongoing construction work at these stadiums, there is a big question mark over the readiness of the grounds for the series against the Three Lions.
The international cricket department is yet to finalise the itinerary for England’s tour of Pakistan in 2024 and this has left PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi quite frustrated. In an interaction with PTI, a close source said:
“With less than a month to go until the first test match, the international department has not yet decided where the first match will be held.”
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Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has made it clear that moving the series would damage the PCB’s image – Insider
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi was asked about the situation during an interaction with reporters when reports emerged that the board was planning to shift one of the Tests to Abu Dhabi.
At that time, Mohsin Naqvi had denied all the reports and had stated that they would host all the Test matches in Pakistan. The source has now revealed that the PCB chairman has warned the officials about the reputational damage if the Test matches are moved out of the country.
“The chairman has made it clear that moving the series would damage the image of the PCB and that Rawalpindi and Multan should be used as venues for the three-match series,” he said.
“The president is not happy because the longer the announcement of the venues and itinerary is delayed, the more it will affect the board’s revenue-generating opportunities from the three matches,” the source said.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has remained in the dark over venues, with another major issue being the lack of interest from foreign broadcasters in showing the England-Pakistan Test series.
“Even broadcasters who have bought the rights to sell the series internationally are concerned that they have not yet found a buyer to show the matches in the UK,” the source said.
“In this context, the longer the announcement is delayed, the more it will affect the PCB’s chances of earning good revenue from the England series.”
In another major development, the source has revealed the real reason why the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) abruptly halted the national under-19 championship after just one day of play in the first round of three-day matches across the country. The source said that the board was forced to take such a big decision due to complaints about team selection and non-approval of budget.
“The reason for the postponement was several complaints that due process was not followed in selecting the regional teams and secondly, the event was launched without the budget for the championship being approved/published by the board’s finance department first,” the source added.
