PCB not willing to play at neutral venue: Naghmi
Bureau Report

LAHORE—Pakistan Cricket Board has rejected the idea of holding Pak-Australia series at a neutral venue in case Australia cancels their tour to Pakistan later this month.
“Neutral venue is a dangerous option in terms of not benefitting the cricket of both the playing countries as there will not be crowd from both the countries and such series are played for the sake of viewers of tv”, said Shafqat Naghmi, Chief Operating Officer, PCB while talking to reporters here on Wednesday.
He said PCB is not in favour of having this series at a neutral venue as it will have no impact on the development of cricket in Pakistan .
“If we accept it (playing cricket at neutral venue) then in future there will be no end to this practice and it can ruin cricket around the world”, he said.
“A cricket series not only involves two playing teams, but also millions of fans from both sides and there are always huge crowds to witness such encounters and cricket series are not just for the sake of “ cricket viewers”, he added.
Nagmi said Cricket Australia has not yet informed them regarding the status of their team’s tour as CA is having meetings with their foreign office on this issue.
“At this stage there is no official communication from CA to confirm that this tour is in doubt”, he said adding, “We are awaiting their reply on this issue”.
He said PCB is endeavouring to have this tour in Pakistan and the Board is committed to provide top security to the visiting team, the way it handled the tours of a lot of foreign teams in the past.