Malaysia looking ahead to host Pakistan home-matches
The United Arab Emirates’ plans of hosting the Afghan Premier League alongside the own T20 league created some scheduling conflicts between their authorities and Pakistan Cricket Board. PCB had earlier warned the UAE authorities to choose between them and other T20 leagues.
There were indications for PCB to move to Malaysia for hosting its home games. A PCB contingent led by chairman Najam Sethi even travelled to Malaysia recently to scope the cricket infrastructure in the associate nation. Moreover, hosting Pakistan’s fixtures in Malaysia will help cut down PCB’s ground expenses to half as compared to the UAE.
Pakistan are due to host Australia and New Zealand later this year and that could be held in UAE. But their women’s ODI series against Pakistan is likely to take place in Malaysia which will be an opportunity to test Malaysia’s ability to host elite international cricket.
Mahinda Vallipuram, Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) president, reckons the probable return of elite international cricket to Malaysia would be a blessing for the game in South-East Asia.
“We certainly would like to host events here,” the MCA president told Cricbuzz. “We are open to hosting as we have venues and other required infrastructure. It (the PCB's visit) was an opportunity to discuss how Malaysia can be a venue for Pakistan. It would be great to host Australia and New Zealand, two great cricketing countries.
“We would love to host Pakistan in some way, perhaps even matches in the PSL or women's cricket,” he added.
Along with the Commonwealth Games in 1998, Malaysia has also hosted the Under 19 World Cup in 2008 and last year's Under 19 Asia Cup. So, they undoubtedly are experienced enough to host top-flight cricket.
Malaysia's main cricket ground is the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpurand a major sports stadium is being developed in Johor Bahru as well. Malaysia had previously tried to attract the country that was unable to host international matches in their own backyard. However, they lost out to the UAE.
“We have shown we can host international matches and I think we have a very stable environment," Vallipuram said. “We have lights at Kinrara Oval, which could host a day-night Test. Malaysia is an ideal destination as we have good hotels, transport and logistics.
“Malaysia is especially convenient for time zones. We are only a few hours ahead of the sub-continent, Australia is only two-three hours (Eastern Time) ahead and the UK is only six-seven hours difference,” he added.
“Having Pakistan playing in Malaysia and major matches staged here would be a tremendous boost to cricket in South-East Asia. The game is growing steadily here but the exposure of major international cricket would fuel the uptick of the sport. Malaysia is a good hub for the Asian region,” he concluded
