Lahore: Despite the pullout by Afghanistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday that the three-nation T20I tournament will be held on schedule from November 17 to 29 in Lahore.
A senior PCB official said they are in talks with a few other boards to replace Afghanistan in the tri-series, in which Sri Lanka is the third side.
“The Tri-Series will progress as scheduled even after Afghanistan’s withdrawal. We are looking at a replacement team, and once finalized, the announcement will be made. The Tri-Series features a third team in Sri Lanka so it is on from 17th November,” he said.
Three local cricketers were among those killed, and in a strongly worded statement, the ACB condoled the demise and also confirmed that they would not be traveling to Pakistan for the upcoming series. The stand was welcomed by T20 captain Rashid Khan as he termed the latest act as ‘barbaric and immoral.”
It is worth mentioning that the latest flare-up between the two countries came after Pakistan and Afghanistan reportedly agreed to extend their 48-hour ceasefire until the conclusion of talks in Doha.
The PCB has now got into action as the board looks to finalize a replacement, which can take the place of Afghanistan. In November, Australia, England, and South Africa will all be occupied with bilateral ties; hence, it’s confirmed that they will not take the place of Afghanistan.
Australia and England are scheduled to play the Ashes from November 21, while South Africa will travel to India for a multi-format series. The Tri-Nation series is slated to begin on November 17, with the final scheduled for November 29.
“The tri series is still on and the third team will be finalized shortly,” a PCB spokesperson confirmed to Hindustan Times on Saturday afternoon.
According to the news agency PTI, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had written to the ICC earlier this week when the escalation happened between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Naqvi wanted the apex body to have an “alternate” plan ready just in case of Afghanistan’s pullout.
“The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has asked the International Cricket Council to start working on an alternate plan as he wants the Tri-Series to go ahead,” news agency PTI quoted a source as saying.
The situation surrounding both countries escalated after Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, was rocked by overnight explosions. The incident was later blamed on Pakistan, and it coincided with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s first visit to India.
While Pakistan refrained from taking responsibility, it did claim that its security forces killed 30 militants in several raids on Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan.
