Pakistan coach favours neutral venue

Pakistan

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam wants to play Test matches against India at a neutral venue in case the Indian government does not clear its cricket team’s tour of Pakistan in January due to security concerns.
 
“First of all, I think India should come to Pakistan,” Alam told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
 
“(But) if for any reason the tour does not go ahead as planned, I think playing at neutral venue is the best option.”
 
Alam took over as coach from Australia’s Geoff Lawson last month and succeeded in his first assignment as Pakistan beat the West Indies 3-0 in the one-day series in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
 
“I saw the new stadium in Dubai which has a capacity of around 25,000 spectators and with Abu Dhabi also having good facilities I think both these venues could be used for Pakistan-India test series,” Alam said.
 
India are scheduled to tour Pakistan from January 4 to February 19 for three Test matches and five one-day internationals.
 
However, the tour is in doubt, especially after the Indian government did not clear its junior field hockey team to play five test matches in Pakistan on security grounds last week.
 
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt has said that the board could look for alternatives – including switching the series with India – in case the Indian cricket tour to Pakistan does not go ahead.
 
“Playing in India will be a disadvantage to us and I think the best option is to look for neutral venues,” Alam said.
 
Due to security fears of foreign teams, Pakistan has not played a Test match this year but competed in 21 one-day internationals.
 
“I don’t think switching from one-day mode to longer version of the game will be difficult for our players because after all they are all professional cricketers,” Alam said.
 
The coach is planning to organise four-day or five-day games between Pakistan and the Rest of the Pakistan XI before the series against India.
 
“By doing so, the players could easily switch into the atmosphere of five-day game and it could give them good practice before the test matches against India,” Alam said.
 
Alam was optimistic that the Indian cricket team would come to Pakistan, but wanted the governments in both countries to coordinate how the tour could go ahead.
 
“Frankly speaking, it’s not in the hands of either the Pakistan Cricket Board or the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India),” Alam said. “The thing is that both governments should look into this and see how the tour could go ahead.”