Karachi will host West Indies in April for three-match T20 series, says Sethi

KARACHI (Monitoring Desk): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi on Sunday announced that all three T20 matches of the upcoming West Indies’ tour will be held at National Stadium Karachi.

“Good news! West Indies have agreed to play three T20 matches in Karachi on 1st, 2nd and 4th April,” wrote the PCB chief on Twitter, adding: “CM Sindh is fully supporting this PCB initiative.”

“Lahore had Zimbabwe, PSL2 Final, ICC XI and Sri Lanka. Now it is Karachi’s turn to rise and shine with PSL3 Final and WI,” Sethi wrote in a separate tweet.

“This is how we intend to bring Karachi back on map of cricket,” he added.

Sethi also had a message for those doubting that the Pakistan Super League 2018 final will be held in Karachi.

“Nany people were asking if Karachi stadium will be renovated on time and I had been ensuring them that it will be done,” he said. “Now with these four matches Karachi has a lot of cricket coming home so these people should welcome them in best way.

“The PSL trophy will be taken directly from Dubai to Karachi, where final will be held at a jam-packed stadium.”

Karachi last hosted an international cricket match in 2009 when Pakistan and Sri Lanka played the first of their three-match Test series at the National Stadium.

The ill-fated tour’s second match saw the islanders targeted in a terrorist attack, following which international teams opted against visiting Pakistan, forcing the PCB to organise its home series in UAE.