Islamabad – Pakistan will play six series against India in the eight years from 2015 as part of a deal which requires it to support Indian-led changes to the International Cricket Council.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed on Thursday said there will be up to 14 Tests, 30 ODIs and a dozen Twenty20s across the six series.
While Pakistan will be the nominal home team for four of the six series, the security situation in the country means those matches will be played at a neutral country if tours to Pakistan are deemed too dangerous.
Ahmed told The Associated Press that a clause was included in the memorandum of understanding “that in case the security situation is not conducive in Pakistan, we will host India either in the UAE or any other suitable neutral venue.”
Pakistan was the last of the ICC's full member nations to conditionally agree to sweeping administrative and financial changes in the game's world governing body, accepting after India agreed to play the full bilateral series between the neighboring countries in the Future Tours Program.
Pakistan toured India in late 2012 for a short limited-overs series, but the archrivals have not played in a full bilateral series since the Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008. India last toured Pakistan in 2006.
No other Test cricket nations have toured Pakistan since 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus at Lahore.
Pakistan is expected to generate $300 million over eight years by playing against nine other Test playing countries, with the bulk of that revenue coming from hosting India.
Ahmed also said that a minimum of two Tests is planned in each of the six series. – Sapa-AP