West Indies women’s team set to tour Pakistan for three T20s
West Indies women team is set to tour Pakistan for three T20s. The series will be played from January 31 to February 3 in Karachi. Last year, West Indies men’s team also visited Pakistan for three T20s but it was a fairly depleted squad.
West Indies women’s team last visited Pakistan in 2004. They were the 2nd team to Pakistan after Netherlands. Bangladesh also visited for 2 ODIs and 2 T20s in September and October 2015.
Three T20s will be played at the Southend Club in Karachi. This will be followed by three ODIs to be played in the UAE. Dubai International Cricket Stadium and ICC Academy will host these matches.
“The visit of the West Indies women’s team to Karachi is great news not only for Pakistan cricket but for women’s cricket in general,” PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad said. “We are thankful to Cricket West Indies and their players for trusting the PCB and agreeing to play three T20Is in Karachi.
“The decision of Cricket West Indies endorses our position that Pakistan is as safe and secure as any other country. On behalf of the PCB, I would like to say that we are confident that this tour will go a long way in the complete revival of international cricket in Pakistan.
“The PCB and the CWI have a very long history of collaboration and mutual respect, and this decision further illustrates strong relationship between the two boards. With the West Indies women’s cricket team’s agreement to partake in the three T20Is, the CWI has reiterated their support for a key member of the cricket fraternity in a time when we are working extremely hard to get international cricket back into our backyard.
“By playing in Karachi, they will also contribute to the growth and popularity of women’s cricket in this part of the world. I am sure this series will inspire a number of young women cricketers to take up this great sport.”
CWI chief executive officer Johnny Grave, said: “This tour is a further major step for our friends at the Pakistan Cricket Board to bring their cricket back home, and we are pleased that our players and support staff have recognized this and supported this venture.
“The security plan arranged by the PCB is of exactly the same level that the Windies men’s team had last year and independent security advisors, Eastern Star International (ESI), have confirmed to both the CWI and WIPA that they are satisfied that the risk is manageable and can be mitigated to an acceptable level.
“We have made it very clear to the players and support staff that should any of them have any personal reservations about this tour, than we fully understand and accept their position.”
This will help PCB present their case to international boards for sending their teams to play cricket in Pakistan. West Indies tour, a World 11 tour, one off T20 against Sri lanka, Zimbabwe tour, and PSL matches have been held in recent years to showcase Pakistan’s ability to hold international matches.
This tour and eight PSL 4 matches are being held in Pakistan and could be used as a template to demonstrate to the Australia’s government and security analyst that international cricket can be played in the country. Australians so far have been reluctant to send a team to Pakistan.
