West Indies to play three T20 Internationals in Karachi

Dubai - The chairman also confirmed that Pakistan will be playing a trilateral series with West Indies and possibly Bangladesh in the United States over the next five years

West Indies will play three T20 International matches in Pakistan, it was confirmed by a top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official on Sunday.
Chairman Najam Sethi confirmed that the three matches to be played on April 1, 2, and 4 will be held in Karachi.
Sethi was addressing the media at the official handover of the glittering PSL trophy to TCS who will be taking the trophy from Dubai to Karachi for the final to be played on March 25.
"I want to state that the PSL final and the three matches between Pakistan and the West Indies will be played in Karachi as we want to put Karachi back on the world map.
"The series between Pakistan and West Indies will be a one-off. It will be a loss making enterprise but the idea is not about making money or losing it, the idea is to bring cricket back so this is the step in that direction," Sethi asserted.
The chairman also confirmed that Pakistan will be playing a trilateral series with West Indies and possibly Bangladesh in the United States over the next five years.
"We have a separate agreement with West Indies where we are exploring a trilateral series - Pakistan, West Indies and one other country, possibly Bangladesh, but it could be some other country -- that we will play for the next five years in the United States (US). For that dates, venues, financial models and all that has to be discussed but in principal we have agreed that the three of us will play in the US."
Sethi also wanted to clear doubts about the empty stadiums during the PSL matches which has been a cause for concern for the PCB and its franchises.
"There has been lot of talk that the stadiums are empty during the matches. That is your perception, which to an extent is true. But when we compare it with PSL 1 and PSL 2 we have data which shows that whatever the picture is of Dubai was the same the previous year, no major significance in terms of attendance so far, while Sharjah was better than last year.
"The reason is that earlier there were possibilities of giving away free tickets. We would get people from labour camps after the ticket sales were sold and we used to give them free entry. But unfortunately from our point of view it was not possible.
"DTCM have said because of the 5 percent VAT they can't allow us to give free tickets. This is a requirement which we have to follow. So our ability to get people in is now restricted, officially."
This year the PSL has been held in only two venues - Dubai and Sharjah. Sethi clarified why Abu Dhabi was not included.
"We didn't consider Abu Dhabi because of two reasons. The expenses for production to have the matches at three venues is around $600,000 to 700,000. Also there are less Pakistanis, especially from the labour class, in Abu Dhabi.
"That's why I have been saying that we are making a determined effort to take PSL back to Pakistan . ASAP. Now ASAP could mean next year, or the year after that.
"From our side we have been doing our best. I have told my infrastructure department that the Rawalpindi stadium and Karachi stadium should be fully ready by next year.
"Multan is ready and so is Lahore. We have sanctioned a budget for Karachi so by next year by the time PSL happens Karachi will be ready full-fledged. We want to show the world that Karachi is a safe city," he concluded.
clareto@khaleejtimes.com