KARACHI
\nPakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi is positive about New Zealand touring Pakistan after the Blackcaps said they are considering the request.
\nNew Zealand and Australia will play a series against Pakistan at a neutral venue, the UAE, later this year but Sethi is hopeful that some of the matches can take place on home soil.
\n\u201cWe are currently in talks with Australia and New Zealand, who have a series coming up with Pakistan in the UAE or Malaysia, as the case may be, in October, November and December of this year,\u201d said Sethi in an interview with PakPassion.net. \u201cNew Zealand, in theory, have said yes, that they will consider our request, provided we think the security is OK. If that is the case, they may play one or two games in Pakistan.\u201d
\nSethi stressed on the importance of the gradual return of international cricket in Pakistan while also praising the way Pakistan cricket, in general, has progressed of late.
\n\u201cWe have the step-by-step return of international cricket to Pakistan as well as the success of the Pakistan Super League (PSL),\u201d he said. \u201cThe Pakistan cricket team is clicking together based upon the policy of appointing well-qualified foreign coaches in charge and exacting a high-standard from our cricketers and instilling motivation as well as discipline in them.\u201d
\nThe pay dispute between Zimbabwe cricketers and their board has put Pakistan\u2019s tour to the country in jeopardy where they play a tri-series involving Australia, but Sethi said things are on track as far as he knows.
\n\u201cI have asked my staff to check with Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) as there have been all sorts of media reports about some issues cropping up within ZC. They have rechecked, and they say everything is on track for this series,\u201d he said.
\nWhile talking about the contract extension of head coach Mickey Arthur, Sethi said that it is too early to talk about that matter but he was also delighted to see Pakistan progress nicely under the South African.
\n\u201cI think Mickey is having a good ride and the entire team is doing well in his tenure. He told me that \u2018Mr Sethi, I am here, and I am taking this team all the way to the World Cup\u2019. Then we will cross that bridge when we come to it and I think let\u2019s leave it at that for now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are very delighted with Mickey\u2019s performance and also the fact that the boys respond well to him.\u201d
\nSethi also reiterated that the Asia Cup will take place in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and as things stand there is no change in that decision.
\n\u201cThe Asia Cup will be played in the UAE, and they are delighted that this is happening. I understand that the BCCI has asked for some clarification from the Union Government on contacts with Pakistan but that is not connected with the Asia Cup,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi is positive about New Zealand touring Pakistan after the Blackcaps said they are considering the request. New Zealand and Australia will play a series against Pakistan at a neutral venue, the UAE, later this year but Sethi is hopeful that some of the matches can take place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n