Kenya are set to tour Pakistan to play against a second-string team as part of efforts to revive top-flight international cricket in the country, five years after it was halted due to a terror attack
LAHORE, Pakistan: Kenya are set to tour Pakistan to play against a second-string team as part of efforts to revive top-flight international cricket in the country, five years after it was halted due to a terror attack.
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Kenya will tour next month for five one-day games, said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan. "We have been making efforts to bring smaller teams to Pakistan and the object is to open the door for teams to our country, and we have got the government's clearance on that," Khan told AFP.
Pakistan have not hosted any international cricket since militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009, killing eight people and injuring nine. Team members were among the injured. Bangladesh twice backed away from touring for a short series in 2012 and a year later, citing security fears.
Ireland were due to play a short limited-over series in Pakistan in September this year, but militant attacks on Karachi airport resulted in the tour being called off. Khan last month visited Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India to lobby for tours to resume. He was also in negotiations with Kenya, who lost their one-day international status last year.
Khan said he hoped Kenya's tour would open the door for others. "Look, we hope that international teams will follow suit and we are doing this step by step," said Khan. "Kenya would thus become the second national team after Afghanistan to have visited this country since 2009."
Afghanistan played a one-day series against Pakistan 'A' in 2011. The PCB said Kenya would arrive on December 11 and play five matches -- all in Lahore -- on December 13, 15, 16, 18 and 20.
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