Bangladesh Cricket Board wills to Pakistan tour

Bangladesh could tour of Pakistan next year:

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is in talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board about a short tour to the country next month. BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that the talks are now all about a suitable timeframe for the tour.

"We can't go in December so we will speak to the PCB today, about whether we can fit in a small tour before the BPL," Hassan told ESPNcricinfo.

Bangladesh's proposed tour to Pakistan hit a snag earlier this year when, on April 19, a Dhaka court order embargoed a series between the two scheduled for the end of April.

In November, Hassan said that the BCB had made a "written commitment" to the PCB to go ahead with the tour.

On Friday Hassan explained that they are now in the second phase of talks with the PCB because the first phase, which dealt with security issues, was satisfactory. "I have spoken to those who went for the security assessment and they are quite satisfied," he said. "If we can agree on a time, we will go next month."

He also said that the players and the support staff will be spoken to about the tour, but no one will be forced to go on the tour. "The last time when we discussed [touring Pakistan], we wanted to talk to the players and find out their opinion. We will also speak to foreign staff but it is highly likely that they won't go. That we can understand. We don't want to force them."

Back in March, the ICC had introduced a "special dispensation" to be made only in "exceptional circumstances" that allowed bilateral series to take place even if the ruling body determined it "unsafe" to appoint its officials for these series. This would allow such series to be manned by "non-neutral match officials", a departure from the ICC's Standard Playing Conditions.

Hassan said the dispensation will take effect if the ICC doesn't send its officials to conduct the matches. "They [ICC] are quite clear about it. They want us to decide if we want to go or not. We will submit a security plan to them, after which they will decide whether they will send their match officials or not. If they don't, we will have to appoint match officials."

Zulfiqar Babar still hoping to get chance in national team of Pakistan

Babar is the leading bowler of President's Trophy with 62 wickets:

It has been 65 years since any one walked into the national side from Okara, a small town southwest of Lahore. The 85-year-old Israr Ali, who played in Pakistan's first Test in 1952, was the last. His international career was short and frustrating but, six decades later, left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar could be set to emulate Israr.

With 62 wickets, Babar is the leading bowler in the President's Trophy charts ahead of the final. He will turn to 34 on December 10, the same day the selectors will be finalising the Pakistan squad for their ODI and T20I series against India.

Okara is nearly 85 miles away from Lahore, a district of Sahiwal Division of Punjab. The agricultural town has fertile land, with fields of potato, tomato, sugarcane, wheat, rice and corn and in sports it's a significant nursery for hockey. Cricket is a popular sport in the region but only a dozen clubs are active, with the Gymkhana Cricket Ground the only proper cricket facility. Cricket is mainly played in the open uneven fields around the outskirts of the city.

In 2009-10, Babar had his most productive season with 96 wickets, ahead of another left-arm spinner, the Pakistan international Abdur Rehman, who took 88. Although he has been contention for last three years and was selected for Pakistan A tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies, he has continued to be ignored. He was named in the list of probables for the England tour in 2010 but never made into the squad.

Two matches of President's Trophy moved to Punjab

Faisalabad's Iqbal Stadium will not host the match between State Bank of Pakistan and SNGPL:

Two matches of the last round of the President's Trophy have been shifted out of Punjab, to Islamabad and Mirpur, following differences between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Punjab Government.

"There is no clash between the PCB and the Punjab Government," a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. "We are a sports body and want the games to go on and to avoid any further disruption we have decided to move our matches from the Punjab province to other parts of the country."

To avoid further disruptions, the President's Trophy matches have been moved to the National Stadium in Islamabad and Quaid-e-Azam stadium in Mirpur. "In the meantime, we are in negotiations with the Government to sort out any the issues they think need to be sorted," the spokesman said. "We want the smooth functioning of our tournament and apart from the President's Trophy matches the Under-19 match (Peshawar v Sialkot) has also been relocated to Peshawar."

The PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said the board can't afford any disruptions at the moment. "We understand that the grounds are the property of the Punjab Government and it's up to them if they will let us play but they should show good spirit and work with a big heart," Ashraf told reporters in Lahore. "But if they carry on with such a condescending attitude we are left with no other choice but to take the matches away from the province."

Shahid Afridi need well performance to earn place in team

Shahid Afridi make a role in domestic T20 to pick for India's tour:

While Pakistan will look to select as many experienced players as possible for their limited-overs tour of India in December, Shahid Afridi will not be a sure pick, according to chief selector Iqbal Qasim.

"India tours have always been tough ones," Qasim said in Lahore. "We are wary about India being a very strong host and we want to pick a combination very carefully. Expect no sweeping changes. We need to strengthen the combination with experience but there is always room for an outstanding young talent.

"Nobody, not even Afridi, gets an automatic place in the side at the moment. Afridi is a fine player and has performed well in past, but the upcoming [domestic] Twenty20 cup is the opportunity for him to perform and we will watch him. I am optimistic about him, as he has done a lot in past and still has a lot of cricket left in him."

England's former coach expected to sent a report to PCB on pakistan's domestic structure

"I know Pakistan has produced so many talented players",Perter Moores:

The Pakistan Cricket Board has sought an independent review of its domestic cricket structure, appointing the former England coach Peter Moores in a consulting role. Moores, on a two-day visit, is expected to submit a comprehensive report to the PCB in the next 10 days.

The PCB had invited Moores to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore along with former captains Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Aamir Sohail, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam to discuss ways to improve the structure and functioning of domestic cricket and the role of the national and regional cricket academies in the country. This is the second instance during the ongoing tenure of current chairman Zaka Ashraf that the PCB has sought recommendations on domestic cricket, after an earlier a task team recommended sweeping changes, which were not implemented over feasibility issues.

Moores, who coached Lancashire to the County Championship title last year, will now help prepare a plan for the PCB to implement. "I know Pakistan has produced so many talented players and I came here to see where things are at the moment and if I can help in any way to move things forward it would be great," Moores said in Lahore.

"It's really interesting to put together the views of some of the great players like Miandad and Waqar. I will see what I can add to the structure, suggesting something that will work well for everybody."

The Pakistan domestic structure has undergone changes almost every two years in the past decade, with regional and departmental teams in the mix. Though the task team did recommended changes to the structure earlier this year, the report never came up and was buried citing most of the recommendations were 'not feasible'.

Moores, 49, made comparisons with the English system. "The system doesn't look particularly different (compared to England). I need some time to find out what is going on," he said. "I can't say that I have the answer because that will obviously come from the people who work here. Every country wants a strong domestic structure in place. What I can see is the great desire to keep Pakistan cricket improving."

S Afridi & M Yousuf not given permission to participate in domestic cricket

Shahid Afridi and Muhammad Yousuf not included in the list of domestic players by PCB's decision:

The PCB is deliberating whether batsman Mohammad Yousuf and allrounder Shahid Afridi can play in the President's Trophy, a domestic first-class tournament. Both players have expressed a desire to play the tournament, in a bid to work their way back into top form, but were not registered in the teams' probable lists for the tournament.

Afridi, who is struggling for form, is looking to play for Habib Bank Limited to prepare for the limited-overs series against India next month. Yousuf, who hasn't played any cricket since June last year due to personal reasons, was keen to make a comeback to the national team and was asked by the selectors to play domestic cricket first. Port Qasim Authority, one of the domestic teams, was intent on recruiting Yousuf and, on October 30, had applied for him to be registered with them.