Pakistan cricket chief wants Bangladesh to send 'any' team to tour Pakistan

Shahryar Khan at a briefing in Lahore

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan has requested Bangladesh to permit ‘any’ team to tour his country as they pursue to retrieve international matches in Pakistan since the deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.

PCB’s cricket chief visited Bangladesh on Monday and announced that Pakistan is now much secure than it was five years ago.

Pakistan is safe now

Speaking to AFB on Monday, he said: "We understand that security situation is a hurdle in the way of your national team, or any other team, visiting Pakistan. But let me say that the security situation is much, much better.”

Pakistan have been deprived of any international cricket match ever since masked terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus carrying cricketers to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in March 2009. The attack left eight people dead and also wounded five cricketers, including Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paravitarana and also their assistant coach.

Pakistan since then have been playing their home matches at venues in United Arab Emirates and England.

Khan remarked that his visit to Bangladesh was to renew and better the relations between the two countries in the cricketing sector, which had been damaged when Bangladesh backed out of their tour in 2013 due to security reasons. Pakistan counter attacked by not allowing their own cricketers to play in the Twenty20 Bangladesh Premier League.

Request to send “any” team

The 80-year-old also requested Bangladesh cricket board to send a junior team, if it wasn’t possible to send the senior lot.

"If your national team cannot come to Pakistan for security reasons -- even though I would ask them to send a team to examine how things are -- I want to start cricket between two countries," he said.

He said that he wanted to invite any team from Bangladesh to tour his country. He wanted the A teams, U19s and women to visit Pakistan. He wished to start at every level of Bangladesh to renew ties.

"They will get a very warm welcome. This is what I have come for, to revive and revitalise our relationship," Khan said.

"My expectation is that we will sit down and work out something in the future, which will start up the relationship at whatever level is convenient to Bangladesh."