England's Pakistan tour hanging in balance

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi is adamant on hosting the upcoming Test series against England at home, but the international cricket department's failure to finalise the itinerary has left him frustrated.

Pakistan are scheduled to face England in three Tests from October 7 with Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi being outlined as the venues.

However, the construction work going on at these venues ahead of next year's ICC Champions Trophy has created some doubts around the availability of the stadiums there.

“With less than a month remaining for the first Test, the international department is yet to even decide where the first match would be held,” an insider confided to PTI.

He said although Naqvi had shot down a proposal to move the Test series to UAE or South Africa, the department concerned is yet to formally announce the tour itinerary.

"The Chairman has made it clear that relocating the series would damage the image of the PCB, and Rawalpindi and Multan should be used as the venues for the three-match series,” he said.

The board insider said even the English cricket board and the Barmy Army members were anxious to know whether the first Test will be played at Multan or Rawalpindi.

“The Chairman is not happy because the more the announcement of venues and itinerary is delayed the more it affects the board's revenue generation opportunities from the three matches,” the insider said.

In this context, the insider said the broadcasters have been struggling to sell the telecast rights of the series abroad.

“Even the broadcasters who have bought the rights to sell the series internationally are worried as they are yet to find a buyer to show the matches in the UK,” he added.

“In this background, the more the announcement is delayed the more it is hitting the PCB's chances of earning good revenues from the England series.”

Recently, the PCB had to stop the National under-19 championship after just one day's play in the first round of three-day matches all over the country.

“The reason for the postponement was because of various complaints that due process was not followed while selecting the regional teams and secondly the event was launched without the budget for the championship first being approved/released by the finance department of the board,” he added.

The source confided that some gaps were also found in the budget submitted for the event.