Pakistan to hold domestic T20 league, Zaka Ashraf

DUBAI: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Zaka Ashraf announced the idea of a domestic Twenty20 league, something he hopes will help bring international cricket back to Pakistan.

He presented this idea here at a function, held to say farewell to the squad ahead of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka

"It will be like the pattern of the IPL (Indian Premier League), the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) and the Sri Lanka (Premier) League," he said.

"We're going to have league matches in Pakistan and probably next March is our target. You will find international players will come over and play there and so that will be one of the major breakthroughs so teams can start coming."

Pakistan has not hosted Tests, ODIs or T20s since March 2009 when the Sri Lanka squad and match officials were targeted by gunmen in Lahore, leaving six Pakistani policemen and a driver dead.

"I'm striving that some team will come before that (March 2013)," he added.

A tour by Bangladesh fell through in April.

Ashraf did, however, rule out the possibility of playing a series against India in their current "home" of the United Arab Emirates.

"We have already suggested that to the Board of Control for Cricket in India but they have reservations about the UAE, they don't want to come and play here," he said.

Although the two sides have met regularly in multi-team tournaments, they have not played each other in a bilateral series since December 2007. (Reuters)