KARACHI: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) controversial Future Tours Programme has given the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) another headache as the world’s number one-ranked T20I side will have to find a minnow to play against during the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) as the ICC has asked all major boards to not schedule any series during that period. With Pakistan cricketers not invited to the IPL due to political tensions between the two countries, the PCB will have to turn to one of the smaller cricketing nations such as Ireland between April and May 2018 when the IPL is staged. Binding the boards to clear up their schedules during the two-month window doesn’t sit well with the England Cricket Board either who also have their own domestic matches scheduled for the same timeframe. So far, the PCB has managed to book just one Test match with Ireland, with that game scheduled to be played between May 11 and 15. However, just that one game is nearly not enough and the board has been urged to move fast by former Test cricketer Jalaluddin. “This is a moment to think for the board as they will have to find more opponents apart from Ireland, which also is just a filler as we had no other option left,” he told The Express Tribune. “This is a setback for the board and the team that they are just filling slots and have nothing else to do besides play associate teams.”
Published in Daily Times, December 15th 2017.