ECB deputy chairman feels PSL helped bring England back to Pakistan

• Great to see Pakistani population wanting cricket so badly, says deputy chairman of ECB.
• He says all support staff, all teams worked really hard to make this happen.
• Security arrangements in are excellent and outstanding, says Martin Darlow.

Karachi: Martin Darlow, the deputy chairman of English Cricket Board feels Pakistan Super League has played an important part in making England’s tour to Pakistan happen.

The ECB had last year pulled out of a scheduled short tour of Pakistan but this year – the English side, led by Moeen Ali, is in Pakistan for 7 match T20I series and will return again to the country for Test matches later this year.

Around 23 England players participated in PSL earlier this year.

Talking to Geo News ahead of 4th T20I in Karachi, the ECB’s vice chairman Martin Darlow said that he is so pleased to see England coming back to Pakistan after 17 years.

“Great to see full stadium. Great to see the Pakistani population wanting cricket so badly and seeing and hearing the noise. And, the players are so pleased to be here. I'm so pleased to be here. And it's great to be back,” he said.

When asked about how things changed in last one year, the ECB deputy chairman said that it's continual reassurance from the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Government and the British High Commission that it is a safe place to play cricket.

“Also, the Pakistan Super League helped so many players from England playing the Pakistan Super League, and it was a great sight the other night with camaraderie between Harry Brook and Harris Rauf. So, all of that put together makes it safe and secure and gives our players the reassurance that this this is a great place to be a great place to play,” he said.

He added that there's lots of work that took place with Pakistan Cricket Board and English Cricket Board,

“I worked very closely with Ramiz. All the support staff, all the teams worked really hard to make this happen. You've seen the security arrangements in place, which are which are excellent, outstanding, which has made it safe for all teams. So, there's lots of work gone into this seven-game series,” he said.

“And, it would take me so long to thank everybody. But it's a team effort, it's just it's a real team effort across both nations,” Martin Darlow said while mentioning what was done behind the scene to make this tour a reality.

The ECB official further said that he’s looking forward to see ICC events returning to Pakistan and feels that ICC events in this country are “long overdue.”