For the first time in nearly nine years fans in Pakistan may have a season of cricket in their country to look forward to, after the PCB confirmed that the Punjab government had approved a T20 series with a World XI to take place in Lahore. And to the talk of Sri Lanka potentially playing a single T20 from their tour to the UAE in Lahore can be added to the possibility of a three-match T20 series against West Indies in November, also in Lahore.
T20Is
Pakistan[12]
Sarfraz Ahmed (c, wk)
Fakhar Zaman
Ahmed Shehzad
Babar Azam
Shoaib Malik
Umar Amin
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Mohammad Nawaz
Fahim Ashraf
Hasan Ali
Aamer Yamin
Mohammad Amir
Rumman Raees
Usman Khan
Sohail Khan
World XI[13]
Faf du Plessis (c)
Hashim Amla
Samuel Badree
George Bailey
Paul Collingwood
Ben Cutting
Grant Elliott
Tamim Iqbal
David Miller
Morné Morkel
Tim Paine (wk)
Thisara Perera
Imran Tahir
Darren Sammy
The developments, announced by the new PCB chairman Najam Sethi, in a press conference in Lahore amount to a bumper season of home cricket for a country that has seen only a short visit by Zimbabwe and the final of the Pakistan Super League, featuring a number of foreign players, since March 2009.
The Punjab government has promised presidential-level security for the week-long tour by a World XI which will be a 15-man squad comprising players from all top Test-playing countries. The team will be led by Andy Flower as coach and will undergo a seven-day camp in Dubai before travelling to Lahore for three T20s, starting from September 10. An ICC security team is expected to visit Lahore on August 26 and 27.
