Rediff

Karachi, Apr 28: Facing the stark reality of not being able to host any international teams at home, Pakistan Cricket Board is keen to make Dubai its neutral home venue with the tacit approval of the big guns behind the Dubai Sports City including Abdul Rehman Bukhatir.

Sources in the PCB said Pakistan is now even pushing to get back its share of the 2011 World Cup matches and want to host them at the Dubai Sports City ground which was used for the first two one-day internationals against Australia.

"Bukhatir is keen to get back international cricket to Dubai and Sharjah and is willing to work out an arrangement with the PCB to achieve his ambition," one source said.

The source said after the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) combined nearly six years ago to force Bukhatir to close down his highly successfully international cricket operations in Sharjah, Bukhatir now wants international cricket back but at the Dubai Sports City.

"On the other hand Pakistan is also keen to host international teams and they see Dubai as a very viable neutral venue option given the short travelling time between Pakistan and Dubai and the presence of a huge number of Pakistani and other Asian expatriates in the UAE," the source explained.

The source also said that during the first two matches against Australia, Bukhatir had left no stone unturned to bring back the glory days of Sharjah and some leading former players including Imran Khan very tactfully made statements about how viable Dubai was an international cricket venue.

Though Bukhatir has no direct connection with the Dubai sports city project, he is a major shareholder and his son is the top man in the project.

The source said Pakistan had been receptive to the idea of trying to get back its share of the World Cup matches and its officials had indicated this to the ICC officials during meetings in Dubai.

"Pakistan feels World Cup matches can be hosted at Dubai. As host it can get paid a hosting fee of around US $750,000 by the ICC for one game. So they are serious but so far the ICC has not been receptive about this proposal," the source added.

The source said the PCB was utterly devastated when none of the countries supported its bid to retain the World Cup matches when the ICC executive board said it wanted to shift the WC matches away from Pakistan because of the security in the country.

"Pakistan is now desperate to get back the World Cup matches and also host some of its coming home series at Dubai including the one-day series against New Zealand," he said.

The source pointed out that if Dubai became a regular international venue then Bukhatir is optimistic this would eventually pave the way for India-Pakistan matches in the Emirates.

Former Pakistan captain and pace bowler Waqar Younis had also suggested that Pakistan and India should resume their cricket rivalry at Dubai if political tensions didn't allow them to play at home grounds.

"Waqar's statement is meaningful and the first initial steps towards trying to convince India to play in Dubai," one source said.