Karachi: The National cricket stadium of Karachi will host at least a couple of matches of the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February next year as the first step towards the resolution of international cricket events in the metropolis.
The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Najam Sethi, while addressing the press here on Wednesday, further said that in this connection, he had had a fruitful meeting with the chief minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah.
“The objective of the meeting with the chief minister was to discuss the PSL matches in Karachi and he assured his utmost cooperation”, Najam Sethi said.
The PCB chairman added that independent security experts will arrive in Karachi to look into the security arrangement plan, as they did in Lahore prior to the PSL and World XI games.
“The PCB security director also met with IG Sindh and DG Rangers to discuss the security arrangement plan”, Sethi said.
“Meanwhile the Sindh government and security agencies will prepare a security plan, which will be shared with the independent security experts upon their arrival in the city”, Sethi added.
Najam Sethi also expressed disappointment over the state of the national stadium, adding that it will be renovated in two phases.
“The first phase will be completed before the Pakistan Super League, starting in February, while the long-term plan, will take about a-year-and-a-half with an estimated cost of around Rs 1.5 billion,” Sethi said.
Najam Sethi admitted that the centre of excellence in Karachi should have been operational long ago, however vowed to make it happen sooner than later.
“I and Mudassar Nazar interviewed three candidates – Iqbal Qasim, Saleem Jaffer and Azam Khan – to head the centre and a decision will be made soon”, Sethi said.
Najam Sethi also briefed the press about the recent ICC meeting and said that he received very positive feedback about the arrangements for the recently concluded World XI series.
On the case against India, for avoiding bilateral commitments, Najam Sethi said that by December-January the PCB will launch it’s case with the dispute resolution committee of the ICC.