Published in Geo News on Jan 29th, 2020, Faizan Lakhani
KARACHI: Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Dr. Geoffery Shaw, has termed Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 a “key component” in efforts to convince the Australian cricket team to tour Pakistan.
Speaking to media in Karachi on the sidelines of his visit to the Pakistan Women Cricket team’s training camp to wish the girls good luck for the upcoming T20 World Cup, the Australian envoy said that participation of Australian players in PSL can help in building confidence.
“It is about building confidence that players will come and feel safe. PSL is a key component, it has a valuable part to play. We have got a number of Australians playing in PSL so I’m looking forward to that,” he said.
Australian cricketers Shane Watson, Ben Cutting, Ben Dunk, Fawad Ahmed, and Chris Lynn have been picked by different franchises for PSL 2020 while Dean Jones will be in the coaching role with Karachi Kings.
Dr Shaw added that he had been asked often about when the Australian team would visit Pakistan.
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“This is a decision for Cricket Australia, but we have already started the conversation. I have hosted a meeting between the PCB chairman and Cricket Australia CEO and we talked about that, about the next time when we could see the two [playing] here,” he added.
He praised Pakistan’s efforts to promote women’s cricket.
“Pakistan has given the world some truly incredible cricket role models, like the wonderful girls we see here today. These women play a pioneering role in sport and they will continue to inspire the future generation,” he said.
“I hope, in 2020, Pakistan Cricket will write the next chapter in women’s cricket history. I look forward to seeing the Pakistan women team in the finals against Australia,” the high commissioner added.
He said Australia will become the first nation to close the gender prize money gap when they increase the prize money for the women’s team to bring it equal to their male counterparts at this year’s T20 world cup.
“The final will be played at the MCG on the International Day of Women and we are looking to make a record attendance on that day at any women’s sports fixture. For that to happen, we invite cricketing fans from around the world to play their part in history,” he added.