England likely to tour Pakistan from Jan 15 for T-20 series

LAHORE: The England cricket team is likely to visit Pakistan from January 15 to 20 for a three-match T20I series, The News reported on Tuesday.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Executive Wasim Khan, who is currently on a ten-day leave in Birmingham – is expected to discuss the series with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO Tom Harrison soon.

Read more: Difficult for England to say no to Pakistan

An online meeting will be scheduled due to the on-going coronavirus, although the PCB officials have planned to hold a face-to-face meeting in London.

The PCB CEO proposed the series to his English counterparts earlier this month.

Several English publications have reported that the proposal is likely to be accepted even if the ECB has a packed schedule in that window.

‘Strong possibility’

Earlier, United Kingdom's leading newspaper The Guardian in a report said that there is a "strong possibility” of the ECB accepting the PCB proposal and sending its national team to Pakistan for a brief tour.

Vic Marks, a former cricketer who is now a correspondent for The Guardian, had said that the PCB's proposal, drafted by CEO Wasim Khan and backed by robust security arrangements, will make it "very hard" for the ECB to say no to.

"It would be startling if the ECB responded with a blunt: 'Sorry. No can do. We are very busy this winter'," Marks wrote.

The columnist had paid homage to Pakistan's "capacity to survive and prosper as a cricketing nation despite playing the vast majority of their international matches away from home" adding that Pakistan "surely deserves England’s support".