Full England and Australia Tours of Pakistan in 2022 ‘Realistic’: PCB Chief Executive Khan

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan is an optimistic individual.

With Sri Lanka scheduled to tour Pakistan in December for a Test series, and after the PCB recently hosted Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts, ECB’s Tom Harrison and Warren Deutrom of Cricket Ireland, Pakistan’s apex cricket body believes that they have left with a positive view on the current security situation in Pakistan. Khan believes that with plans for full tours by Australia and England to Pakistan in 2022, the hope is that their A teams tour first.

“Do I think that’s realistic? Absolutely. Can it happen? I think it’s a case of ongoing dialogue working closely with players’ associations,” Khan told ESPNcricinfo.



“The first big step was to get Kevin and Tom to come over, which they committed to and really threw themselves into, which is superb. The FTP, the next two or three years, it gives us the opportunity to take small steps. It’s not going to happen overnight, we need to continue to build confidence on what we do.

“Our greatest selling point is word of mouth from players – 260 foreign players from across 15 countries registered for the draft, which shows how far we’ve come. I’m hoping that will accelerate people’s thinking in wanting to come and visit. We just have to be consistent in our approach with every country.”

Khan feels that the best way for people to change their perception about Pakistan was to experience the country in person.

“The one big thing is that I think there’s a perception about Pakistan and what exists there, it’s not until you get there that you realise the reality is very different,” he said. “I think everyone who came over had a really good experience, saw that it’s a normal country and people live a normal way.

“Wherever you look in the world, Pakistan is as safe as anywhere… the world’s not a great place at the moment, but we’ve done everything we can to get the security measures in place. We are pretty experienced at it now, because we’ve had to be. What people say when they leave is that it’s not what I imagined it would be.

“It’s frustrating at times because people have this perception because that’s what the media paints. It’s had its fair share of issues in the past, we remain vigilant, there’s no complacency, but we are good at what we do and I encourage people to come have that experience.”