KARACHI, Pakistan (CMC) – Financial concerns have forced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to cancel its proposed five-year agreement with West Indies but has confirmed the Caribbean side will still tour Pakistan in March for a three-match Twenty20 series.
The PCB had last year announced a bilateral agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) which would have seen the Windies play an annual T20 series here, with Pakistan contesting a reciprocal Tri-Nations Series in the United States, involving West Indies and a team to-be-determined.
PCB chairman Najam Sethi, however, told media here that after a review of the figures, the agreement would not be financially viable.
“The West Indies will come to play three T20 matches this year in March but the rest of the agreement was not cost-effective,” Sethi said.
“The problem is that with three games, we can’t get enough sponsors to cover our costs. So now we have decided on a one-off series this year followed by a Tri-Series in Florida later in the year.”
Sethi said under the proposed agreement, the PCB faced high production costs and players fees which could not be offset by commercial agreements.
A new Memorandum of Understanding will now be prepared with Cricket West Indies, the administrator said.
West Indies had been expected to face Pakistan in a three-match T20 series here last November but the tour was abandoned because of thick smog in Lahore and the unavailability of players due to the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League.
