Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to bid for the ICC events in the cycle of 2023 to 2031 jointly with Emirates Cricket Board.
PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said in a podcast hosted by the country’s board that it is important for Pakistan cricket and its development to host major ICC tournaments.
“We had expressed an interest to host five to six events and, frankly, it is likely we won’t be getting more than one or two. But we also thought out of the box to bid jointly with another country. I have already begun speaking with the Emirates Cricket Board for a team-up to increase the chances of hosting some of it together but, again, it needs cooperation. There are a few events with 16 games and then there are events with 30-40 games, so depending on the scale, the workload can be divided between us,” Mani said.
The ICC had invited expressions of interest from its Member nations until March 15 for 20 global events that will be held in the 2023-2031 cycle but due to the coronavirus pandemic the meetings have been deferred indefinitely, ESPNcricinfo reported.
“We intend to make a very serious expression of our interest in this matter and we will be getting full government support as well. The ICC delegation did meet with Dr Fahmida Mirza, the Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination who also handles sports in the country, and they [the ICC] got a very positive impression [of our intent and ability to host global events],” the PCB chairman said.
