ISLAMABAD: The chief executive of Cricket Australia on Sunday cleared the uncertainty surrounding the bilateral series with Pakistan and said they were “very committed” to touring the South Asian nation in March next year.
Australia are due to play three Tests, three one-day internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty-20 International (T20I) in the month-long series starting March 3.
The three Test matches are scheduled to be played in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, while the three ODIs and one T20 will be played in Lahore.
“We’re working closely with the PCB, working with all the authorities to make sure that those plans are set. It’s a really big complex endeavour. We’re very committed to touring,” Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley was quoted as saying by Fox Sports Australia.
“It’ll be the first time in many, many years, so at the moment we’re going through the post reports of that. But it’s absolutely our intention to tour as long as it’s safe to do so.”
Australia have not toured Pakistan since 1998 because of security concerns. A Cricket Australia team recently completed a trip to Pakistan to ensure the tour is safe, according to the report.
Hockley said it was their every intention to play in the South Asian country.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja earlier this week expressed confidence that Australia, England and New Zealand would tour Pakistan next year.
“We have made the world realize about our presence at the International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings,” Raja said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was due to send its men’s and women’s team in October, but withdrew because of “concerns” over its players’ mental health while traveling to Pakistan.
The ECB pulled out of the series just days after New Zealand Cricket said it was abandoning its series in Pakistan following a “security alert” by its government.
The news came as a shock to Pakistan, which has been struggling to revive international cricket that was suspended in the aftermath of a 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
Cricket Australia 'very committed' to tour Pakistan in March
https://arab.news/rmc35
Cricket Australia 'very committed' to tour Pakistan in March
- Nick Hockley says they intend to tour Pakistan 'as long as it’s safe to do so'
- Australia are due to play three Tests, three ODIs and one T20 starting March 3
Court sentences Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan, wife to 17 years in prison in graft case
- The case involves a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady when Khan was PM
- The couple were convicted of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from state repository
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 17 years in prison each in a graft case, dealing another major legal blow to the jailed opposition leader who faces a string of cases.
The reference, popularly called the new Toshakhana case, was filed in July 2024 and involves a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022.
The couple, accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository, were indicted in the case in Dec. last year. In October, they denied the charges against them, saying the case was a “politically motivated” attempt to disqualify Khan from politics.
Both Khan and his wife were handed down 10-year rigorous imprisonment under sections 34 (common intention) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code, and seven years under Section 5(2) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“This court, while passing sentences has considered the old age of Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, as well as the fact that Bushra Imran Khan is a female,” read a copy of the court verdict.
“It is in consideration of both said factors that a lenient view has been taken in awarding lesser punishment.”
Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces a slew of cases which the former premier says have been politically motivated.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has long campaigned against the military and government, accusing the generals of ousting him together with his rivals. Khan’s opponents deny this, while the military says it does not meddle in politics.
On Friday, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) acquitted Khan aide and former foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, but awarded 10-year prison sentences to senior PTI figures, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry in a case linked to violent riots in May 2023.
