Reports: PCB to propose annual T20I tri-series at ICC meeting

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly planning to host an annual three-nation T20I event with England and Australia. The PCB chairman Ramiz Raja is expected to present his proposed plan at the ICC meeting, which will be held in Birmingham during the Commonwealth games.

The report said that the board is working on the plan that is also an alternative to the earlier-proposed four-nation event which was put forward by Raja in the previous ICC meeting. The four-nation event did not get enough support from the other members, and it was decided to not proceed with that proposal.

“The board is working on the plan and it is an alternate to the four-nation annual event which was proposed by Ramiz at the last ICC meeting and which didn’t get the required support from other members and has been shelved,” a source was quoted by NDTV.

Ways to find a short window for the tri-series will be worked out soon: Reports

It is also reported that the PCB chairman might use any request from India to expand the Indian Premier League (IPL) window to pitch his tri-series idea at the ICC meeting. Raja has a good relationship with the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, along with other board heads, and he is confident about the tri-nation event being executed next year.

“The logistics and ways to find a short window for the tri-series will be worked out soon and Ramiz feels it can be done on an annual basis. Ramiz has good personal relations with BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly and other board heads and he is quietly confident the tri-series plan can be executed by next year,” the source added.

The responses from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia, when their officials were in Pakistan, were positive after talks with Raja. “Ramiz firmly believes that bilateral series don’t appear to have a very bright future in the new FTP (Future Tours Program).”