We want to play our part in bringing cricket back to Pakistan, says Cricket Ireland CEO

The CEO of Cricket Ireland was present in Lahore during the Pak vs Sl T20I series and was mighty impressed with the way the series went on. The passion of the people flocking the stadium to see their team play at home after ten years and the top notch security and warmth with which he was received by the PCB was something that made him feel really good.

"First of all, we have been treated fabulously well," Deutrom said in the PCB's podcast, reported BBC.

"The courtesy, the generosity, the hospitality, the warmth, the love of cricket is plainly obvious for anyone to see. Cricket Ireland is now a Test nation and we certainly feel it is important that we play our part in being a mature and grown-up member of the cricket family. We want to play our part in assisting getting international cricket back in Pakistan," he further added.

Ireland has the next eight months occupied, but the board expects an invite from Pakistan at least in a year’s time. He was invited by the PCB to maybe show that things aren’t as bad as they seem to be from the outset. He realised this after this visit and expressed his happiness of having good relations between the two cricket boards.

"To be honest, and just at a very human level, until you see it yourself, you come with a set of conceptions or preconceptions. And I think this visit, which was generously made at the invitation of the Pakistan Cricket Board, would begin to change those perceptions," he said.

He also said that the kind of security that he saw given to the Sri Lankan team at Lahore and Karachi was presidential-level. He further assured that he will convey the Ireland Cricket board that it was now a safe situation to tour Pakistan and if any invite from the PCB is received, they will take it seriously.  

"We have a board meeting at the end of this month and would like to convey to the board what we have seen and the remarkable steps that have been taken to instil that level of confidence in other cricket boards around the world. We will do what we have always done, engage with our governments and insurers, and talk to our players. We will speak with the other boards that have been here in the past, obviously Sri Lanka Cricket, and then, we need to wait for an invitation,” he said.

"When we receive an invitation, we will go through the motions and will take it extremely seriously. There is no date set. However, it wouldn't surprise me if that date or if that invitation was received by the end of the year for a tour taking place, perhaps next year, maybe the year after, I don't know. I think that's something we should take extremely seriously," he signed off.