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Pakistan must get more Test cricket

Pakistan has weathered every possible storm. They have not only survived but flourished, beating the best in the business

Test cricket will be poorer without Pakistan. It has been almost 29 months since Pakistan toured a country outside Asia for a Test series. They have played only six Test matches since last June and the next Test Series they are scheduled to play is in July next year. So in a period of 12 months between last and next June, they would have played only six Tests matches.
They may get three more Tests, if the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) decides to honour their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Under the Future Tours Programme (FTP), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) agreed to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023. However, chances of the first proposed series next month are getting dimmer by the day, especially after the way the top PCB officials were treated in Mumbai recently.
Since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009, no country is willing to tour Pakistan but PCB has found home away from home in the UAE, a safe neutral venue for any nation in the world that can be also sort of a home for India with the presence of a huge Indian Diaspora here.
Not only fans would be deprived of a chance to watch India-Pakistan cricket clash in the UAE, the PCB will incur a huge financial loss also. According to a PCB official quoted by a news agency, the PCB could incur losses up to $85 million.
They have a four-year broadcasting deal which is worth $145 million but if PCB cannot host India at all then they could lose nearly 65 per cent of the total amount which comes to around $85 million.
Pakistan has weathered every possible storm. They have not only survived but flourished, beating the best in the business. The latest being England, who came here riding high on confidence after the Ashes victory four months ago. Except for a ODI series against Zimbabwe, cricket fans in Pakistan have not seen any cricket live in the last six years but that has not been a deterrent in any case. More importantly, they are playing quality Test cricket.
Pakistan has not lost their winning streak at home despite losing their trump card and match-winner, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, after ICC decided to crack down on illegal action. Now they have even more potent weapon in leggie Yasir Shah.
It is joy to watch Yasir ply his trade with wide grin and enjoy his success on field with wild celebrations. Characters like Yasir, Afridi or Shoaib Akhtar make the game of cricket worth watching and Pakistan keep churning out such talented cricketers year after year.
Leaving aside politics or financial reasons, fans around the world would love to watch Pakistan play more and more Tests and icing on the cake would be young Virat Kohli's brigade take on battle-hardened Misbah-ul-Haq's army.
Not only India-Pakistan but the other Test-playing countries need to host Pakistan for a full Test-series more often than currently being done.
sunilvaidya@khaleejtimes.com