PCB's plan to invite World XI hits expense roadblock

Karachi: Pakistan cricket authorities have faced a setback of sorts in their plans to get a World eleven squad to play in the country sometime next year.

A reliable source in the PCB has told PTI that the estimated expenses for having the World eleven tour Pakistan is much more than anticipated by the cricket board.

"The PCB has asked Giles Clarke of the England and Wales cricket board, who also heads the ICC task force on Pakistan, to organise the tour for them," the source said.

"PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan held several meetings with Clarke during a recent visit to London where the plans for having a World eleven play in Pakistan were discussed and finalised. But the expenses quoted by Clarke for assembling the World eleven and bringing them to Pakistan is ten times what the PCB had anticipated," the source said.

"Clarke has included the names of some big players like Chris Gayle, Glen Maxwell, Pollard, Bravo, Morgan etc in his anticipated squad and obviously these top players will have to be paid well to get them to be part of the World eleven," the source stated.

He said the PCB had now asked Clarke to review and reconsider the expenses for the World eleven tour dates, which are yet to be finalised.

Except for Zimbabwe no other Test team has toured Pakistan since March 2009 when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

The source said even the tour by Zimbabwe last May to Pakistan was not that expensive compared to the figures quoted for the World eleven.

Interestingly the PCB had paid out nearly half a million dollars to the Zimbabwe cricket board to cover their players allowances, fees, air travel and other expenses.

The PCB has been desperate to have international cricket in the country but has been confined to negotiating with the weaker cricket playing nations or the associate member teams.

Even a planned tour by the Bangladesh women's team this year is in doldrums despite a visit by their security delegation this week to Karachi and Lahore to inspect security arrangements for the series.