"We'd love to host England for a shorter tour before 2022" - Wasim Khan

England have not touched down on Pakistani soil since 2005 courtesy security concerns. Before COVID-19 was a thing, hopes were increasing of a possible England tour of Pakistan. All of a sudden, the novel coronavirus pandemic gripped the world and this was no longer a priority.

In May, Pakistan became the first team to agree to fulfill their FTP commitment this August, in spite of the fact that COVID-19 was running rampant in England. Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, is now hoping that England can return the favor.

"England are due to tour in 2022 and we'd love to have them coming over well before then for a shorter tour," Wasim told Sky Sports.

Pakistan's desire to host SENA in their country is well-known as it is believed that tours from such high-profile cricketing nations will bolster the country's reputation, as far as security is concerned.

MCC already toured the country in March 2020 and it was obvious that Pakistan were looking at it as a baby step towards hosting England.

We're hoping that England will definitely come: Wasim Khan

"It's something that we'll speak to the ECB about. But it's baby steps. There's a lot of cricket still left to play. But we're hoping in the near future England will definitely come."

Wasim also stated that he was hoping for a short English tour to play a few T20Is. He acknowledged the fact that finding a window in these testing times would be a daunting task. However, he believed that an England Lions tour would be a decent alternative as well.

"Finding time in the FTP (future tours programme) could be the challenge at this stage. But a Lions tour would be excellent as an alternative."

PCB had clarified that there was no concrete discussion in the pipeline currently, but a few hints here and there point towards the fact that backdoor talks could still be very much on.

Pakistan are scheduled to host England for 5 ODIs in October 2022 followed by a Test series in December. Whether England visit before the FTP commitment or not, a Lions tour could definitely happen sooner than later.