ECB confirms plans to undertake first tour of Pakistan in more than 15 years

The ECB has confirmed it really is in talks with the PCB about a short tour to Pakistan in late January or early February. The tour, first revealed as an opportunity by ESPNcricinfo last week, is likely to consist of three T20Is and will be England's first visit to Pakistan since late 2005.

Speaking on Friday*, PCB chief executive, Wasim Khan, said he was "quietly confident" that the series would go ahead.

"We have an excellent relationship with the ECB people," Khan said. "There was no deal struck when we went to England [in July] but it has been a frequent communication, chairman to chairman, CEO to CEO. The British High Commissioner did an excellent job of getting this to the table for us as well. You need lots of individuals pulling in the proper direction, and we are quietly confident. We'll support the ECB in every their assessments, everything they need to do, to try and get that series on in January.

"I wrote to them on the 12th of October, on behalf of the PCB, inviting them to Pakistan. There was evidently a statement from the ECB acknowledging that we'd written to them. It's now just looking forward to the formal response, and within that, we'll speak about what the next steps are, which is the Covid assessments, security assessments, all of those things that need to be ticked off. But there's an enormous will from the ECB to come and do that because they know the value for the global game but also cricket in Pakistan."

While England aren't currently scheduled to tour Pakistan until late 2022, the PCB issued this invitation in the hope that England may have around weekly between their tour of Sri Lanka, which is currently planned for January, and their Test and limited-overs series against India, which are due to take place from late January and into March.

The ECB appears keen to make the tour happen. Not only is it grateful for Pakistan's recently concluded tour of England - Pakistan's players were obliged to invest weeks in lockdown because of Covid-19 protocols - nonetheless, but it is also mindful of the powerful message such a tour would send to a country that was starved of top-flight cricket for many years because of security concerns.

"After discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), we are able to confirm the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has received an invitation according to of a brief white-ball tour to Pakistan through the early part of 2021," the ECB said in a statement. "We welcome the fact that international cricket is returning to Pakistan and are focused on doing what we are able to greatly help this develop further.

"Much like any proposed tour that occurs at the moment, the safety and welfare of our players and staff are paramount. As such, there are numerous of factors that need to be taken under consideration, like the proposed protocols with regards to Covid-19 bio-secure bubbles, the proposed degrees of security around the team, as well as the feasibility of undertaking this tour against the setting of an already busy schedule of international cricket for the England men's team.

"We are liaising with the PCB, and the as other partners over the coming weeks to sort out these considerations, before your final decision will be taken in due course."

Quite a few pieces of the jigsaw must come together prior to the tour can be confirmed. To begin with, the ECB is likely to need to prioritize obligations which already are scheduled - the Sri Lanka Test series was formerly designed to be played in March 2020 - and there is still some doubt over where in fact the games against India will be played. Although it looks overwhelmingly likely the fixtures will be played in the UAE because of the prevalence of Covid-19 in India, the BCCI is yet to officially acknowledge this. Because of the political tensions between your countries and current health requirements, it could also prove problematic to travel directly between Pakistan and India in the limited time available.

Recent reports from security consultants suggest that confidence in this regard has risen considerably. While security for the tour would without doubt be extremely tight, there has been an acceptance within the ECB for quite a while that the tour in 2022 was viable. The PCB may also need to meet the ECB's medical team that its plans for a bio-bubble are adequate. As has become standard in recent years, players uncomfortable with going on the tour will tend to be permitted to skip it without consequence.

If the tour does happen, it might be considered something of a coup for Khan. British-born Khan has can be found in for criticism from some areas of Pakistan's media since he was appointed to the role almost 2 yrs ago. But he has forged a strong relationship with Tom Harrison, his counterpart at the ECB, and spent some time working hard to assuage the security concerns touring teams had until recently. If this tour goes ahead, among the key aims of his time with the PCB could have been achieved.