Khawaja, Finch give conditional consent on playing in Pakistan

SYDNEY (Agencies): Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch and middle-order batsman Usman Khawaja are open to touring Pakistan, if the security situation in the country is under control.

Pakistan are scheduled to face-off in a five-match ODI series in March — later this year — and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hopeful that part of the series takes places on home soil, instead of entirely in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Speaking about a potential visit of Pakistan, Khawaja said that he will let the administrators make the final call on this. 

“Obviously, whatever Cricket Australia tells us, that’ll be the big thing,” Khawaja told reporters, according to Fox Sports. “We’ll leave it to the administrators. They’re pretty good at taking care of us and making sure everything’s safe.” Khawaja added: “I was born in Pakistan so it won’t be too different for me but it’s still a while away and we’ve (now) got three big games against the best nation in the world.”

Finch was also excited about touring Pakistan while also being full of praise for the passion towards the game in the country. “It would be great to get cricket back in Pakistan,” said Finch. “The passion their fans have got and just the amount of fans … (there are) some pretty empty stadiums in the UAE.”

The Australian skipper added: “Anytime there’s cricket back in Pakistan, they’re swinging from the rafters to get a seat,” he said. “Is it the right time? I’m not sure … that’s between the boards and the ACA (Australian Cricketers’ Association) to work through.”

It must be noted that Aussie Test captain Tim Paine along with former captain George Bailey and B fast-bowler Ben Cutting were part of a World XI who toured Pakistan in 2017, while their fellow cricketer Chris Green visited Lahore during 2018 edition of Pakistan Super League.