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LAHORE – Cricket Ireland’s Chairman and Chief Executive spent two days in Pakistan this week after accepting an invitation from the Pakistan Cricket Board to visit the country and attend the latest Pakistan v Sri Lanka T20I.
Speaking with the PCB Podcast, Warren Deutrom said: “It is a great pleasure to be here. First of all, we have been treated fabulously well. 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 grownup member of the cricket family. We want to play our part in assisting getting international cricket back in Pakistan.

“To be honest until you see it for yourself, you come with a set of preconceptions, and I think this visit, which was generously made at the invitation of the Pakistan Cricket Board, would begin to change those perceptions.

“What we saw in Islamabad and Lahore is the extraordinary lengths to which the cricket authorities, the security authorities, the government and police, have been working together to restore a sense of normality. It begins to build a sense of confidence around the situation on the ground bearing in mind the cricket tours that have taken place and are being planned by other Full Members, the upcoming visit by senior members of the UK Royal Family, even the resumption of a regular airline service by the likes of British Airways. So, it is the beginning, I believe, of a conversation.”

“We have a board meeting at the end of this month and we shall convey to the board what we have seen and the steps that are being taken to restore that level of confidence in other cricket boards around the world. We will do what we always have always done when we consider such tours, which is to engage with our governments, security experts and insurers, and of course talk to our players. We will speak with the other boards that have been here in the past, obviously Sri Lanka Cricket, and others that have come here in recent years. Should we receive an invitation, we will go through the steps above and will take it extremely seriously.”

Pakistan Cricket Board
Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom in interview
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