Cricket governing body chairman says PCB in contact with England and \u201cthere are no issues\u201d
\n LAHORE
\nPakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday dismissed reports claiming non-availability of the venues for the upcoming three-match Test series against England, saying that the matches will be held in Pakistan.
\n\u201cNo Tests will be played outside [the country]. Multan and Rawalpindi venues are final,\u201d the PCB chief said in an interaction with journalists during his visit to oversee the ongoing renovation work being carried out at the Gaddafi Stadium.
\nEarlier this week, reports emerged that the schedule for next month\u2019s three-match series could be altered due to construction work at the country\u2019s major stadiums.
\nThe matches are scheduled to be held in Multan (Oct 7-11), Karachi (Oct 15-19) and Rawalpindi (Oct 24-28). But reports claimed that the Karachi Test was likely to be moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) \u2014 Pakistan\u2019s \u201chome venue\u201d until cricket returned to the country.
\nEngland coach Brendon McCullum on Thursday also addressed the issue while speaking to reporters at The Oval ahead of the third Test against Sri Lanka.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t really know (what is happening in Pakistan) but we can\u2019t pick a team until we know where we\u2019re going to play,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would be nice if, over the next couple of days, we found out.\u201d
\nThe former New Zealand captain added: \u201cThen we\u2019ll sit down and make sure we\u2019ve got the right team for the right conditions and the right opposition.\u201d
\nEngland did not tour Pakistan between 2005 and 2022, owing to security concerns, with the PCB staging matches in the UAE throughout that period.
\nAddressing the reports, Naqvi clarified that the Test series between Pakistan and England will be played in Multan and Rawalpindi.
\nHe further shared that the PCB is in contact with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and \u201cthere are no issues\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Coaches, selectors to decide about captains\u2019
\nResponding to another question regarding potential shift in captaincy, the PCB chief said that the decisions regarding captains of the Pakistan men\u2019s team will be made by coaches and selectors.
\n\u201cI have left these matters to them,\u201d Naqvi said during an inspection of the Gaddafi Stadium construction project.
\nReports are making rounds regarding the change in captaincy with Mohammad Rizwan emerging as the frontrunner to lead across formats.
\n\u201cA workshop is scheduled for September 22, where everyone will be invited to give their suggestions, and decisions will be made afterwards,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cI know that if there is any mistake, it falls on me. If the team does not perform well, if there is a selection mistake, or if the coach loses, it will all reflect on me,\u201d he added while revealing that he is meeting the selection committee today as well.
\nSources told Geo News that the cricket board will hold a \u201cConnection Camp\u201d \u2014 a meeting-cum-workshop of the board\u2019s top brass \u2014 that will design the Pakistan cricket\u2019s future course of actions.
\nPakistan white ball head coach Gary Kirsten, red ball head coach Jason Gillespie, heads of high performance centres, senior cricketers, senior board officials as well as international and domestic directors will attend the camp meeting presided over by the PCB chief, sources added.
\nSpeaking of upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 \u2014 scheduled from February to March, Naqvi said that the major tournament will be held in Pakistan despite the uncertainty regarding arch-rivals India\u2019s participation.
\nIndia\u2019s participation in the tournament is uncertain as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seeks the government\u2019s approval to visit the country.
\nThe PCB chairman said that he has been in contact with the BCCI Secretary regarding the global eight-team tournament. \u201cChampions Trophy will be held in Pakistan, we are in touch with the boards of the teams participating in the tournament.\u201d
\nLastly, Naqvi talked about Jay Shah becoming the ICC Chairman and Asian Cricket Council meeting
\n\u201cWe are in touch with Jay Shah; there are no concerns about his becoming ICC Chairman. The ACC meeting is on September 8 and 9.
\n\u201cI will not be able to attend the meeting and Salman Nasir will attend. The meeting will finalise matters related to the new president,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cricket governing body chairman says PCB in contact with England and \u201cthere are no issues\u201d LAHORE Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday dismissed reports claiming non-availability of the venues for the upcoming three-match Test series against England, saying that the matches will be held in Pakistan. \u201cNo Tests will be played outside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-429949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n