Pakistan to host ACC Emerging Nations Cup

PCB chairman Sethi said that six ACC teams including five full members will play in the tournament. Sethi said he was hopeful by next year India would also agree to send its emerging team to Pakistan.

PCB chairman Najam Sethi (second from left) said that six ACC teams including five full members will play in the tournament, while addressing the media along with Sri Lanka and Pakistan captains ahead of the T20 in Lahore.

 

Pakistan will host the next Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Nations Cup in April next year and PCB chairman Najam Sethi hoped that India would send its team for the event. He said the decision to have the Emerging Cup in Pakistan was taken during the meeting of the ACC held in Lahore on Sunday.

“Having the ACC meeting is by itself a very important step towards revival of international cricket in Pakistan.

PCB chairman Sethi said that six ACC teams including five full members will play in the tournament. “We want to hold the matches in more than one city and we will work towards that. We will look forward to hosting India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and a qualifier team next year,” Sethi said.

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Sethi said he was hopeful by next year India would also agree to send its emerging team to Pakistan as this would pave the way for regular tours to the strife-torn country.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chairman Thilanga Sumithipala also said that his team would like to come back to Pakistan soon.

Sumithipala said Sri Lanka would like to come back to Pakistan with its ‘A’ team, national team and under-19s. “Pakistan is an important nation in the cricket world and if it is weak than Asian cricket is weak and if Asian cricket is weak than world cricket will be weak,” he said.

Sumithipala called on Cricket Boards of Asia to support each other and said the Sri Lankan government had agreed to send the team to play in Lahore with the same spirit.

“Pakistan has always been a good friend of Sri Lankan cricket and they never pulled out of any series even when the situation was bad in our country. They now need our support,” he said.

The SLC chairman further said that he would like to see international events being held in Pakistan as his government, board and security people were satisfied with the security arrangements made by the PCB for them.

Sri Lanka is the first top international side to play in Pakistan since March, 2009 although Pakistan managed to get low-ranked Zimbabwe to play a limited-overs series in Lahore in May, 2015.

Militants had attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March, 2009 which led to international teams refusing to tour Pakistan and the PCB was forced to hold its home series away from home in the UAE.