Pakistan's cricket authorities want the Board of Control for Cricket in India to reconsider scheduling long-term off-shore matches between the two countries after initially snubbing an Indian offer.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Naseem Ashraf said the BCCI had asked Pakistan to sign an agreement to play some off-shore matches, but the former PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and director Cricket Operations Saleem Altaf had refused the offer.
"Their reason was understandable, as that time some of our players wanted proper breaks between series and felt off-shore matches would add to their already hectic international schedule," he said.
"The Indian Board then went ahead and signed similar deals with Australia and South Africa for an unspecified number of matches. But, recently, I asked the Indians to reconsider their earlier offer to us as we are now interested in having off-shore matches with India," Ashraf said.
The PCB chief said he is keen to take Indo-Pak cricket to North America, which has a big commercial market waiting to be exploited.
"Summer is the only time we can play off-shore matches and we have to take care not to burn out the players. But I feel Indo-Pak cricket at off-shore venues apart from our future tours programme is a good idea," he added.
Ashraf also clarified the Pakistan and India one-day games played in Abu Dhabi last year were one-off arrangements and not part of any long-term deals.
"We still need to sign a long-term plan for off-shore games something on the lines of the matches we used to have in Toronto in the 90s," said Ashraf.
