Incoming PCB official eyes Australia visit even as series scheduled to be held in UAE

Australia have not toured Pakistan since 1998 due to security concerns, but Wasim Khan hopes they can be persuaded to play there

A Pakistani cricket fan holds a placard during a final of Twenty20 International match between World XI and Pakistan at Gaddafi stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. The series is aimed at reviving international cricket in Pakistan, since terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team bus in Lahore in 2009. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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Incoming Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) managing director Wasim Khan has said he hopes Australia will come to the South Asian nation to play at least part of a one-day international series currently scheduled to take place in the UAE in March.

Most cricket nations have avoided touring Pakistan since 2009 when gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, injuring six players and killing six security personnel and two civilians.

Australia have not toured Pakistan since 1998, but Wasim hopes they can be persuaded to play there.

"I will ask the question," Birmingham-born Wasim told ESPNcricinfo. "We will continue to offer them the highest level security and, if they have any concerns, we will act to meet them."

Sri Lanka returned to Pakistan in 2017 for a one-off Twenty20 international, while West Indies played a three-match T20 series in Karachi in April this year.

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Pakistani bowler Hasan Ali (C) celebrates after taking the wicket of Sri Lankan cricket captain Thisara Perera (R) during the third and final T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore on October 29, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI
Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali celebrates the fall of a Sri Lankan wicket during a game in Lahore. Aamir Qureshi / AFP

Wasim said he wanted to speak with other boards to see how he could help get regular international cricket back to Pakistan.

"It will probably be a process of baby steps," Wasim said.

"I need to sit down with other boards and ask them: where are the gaps in our plans that worry you? What can we do to assure you? What will it take to get you to come back?

"I want to hear what concerns they have and find a way of meeting them."

English county teams would be invited to use the PCB academy in Lahore for pre-season training, said Wasim, who remains Leicestershire chief executive until the end of January.

"We have excellent facilities. We have a great passion for the game. If we can get more foreign players coming to Pakistan more often, hopefully we can normalise playing in the country again."