Pakistan concerned over FTP schedule

Pakistan have a packed schedule of commitments for 2011 but there remain concerns and reservations within the board in the long-term over ongoing Future Tours Programme (FTP) negotiations. Soon after the 2011 World Cup in April, Pakistan will tour the Caribbean for the first time in six years for a full series. They are then due to visit Zimbabwe in August and the year is rounded off by 'home' commitments with Sri Lanka and England, though in both cases, locations are yet to be decided.

"As part of the FTP, England has committed to a full tour of three Tests, five ODIs and one T20 in January [2012]." the PCB's chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said. "But we havent decided on a venue yet. The UAE is one of the options at the moment. They have committed to it as part of the FTP." Similarly, negotiations are ongoing with Sri Lanka for a series in October 2011 though the itinerary and venues have to be confirmed.

But ESPNcricinfo understands that officials involved in the next FTP discussions, due to be unveiled in February 2011, hold "reservations" over Pakistan's commitments in the next cycle. Concerns center mostly around contests with India, currently on hold due to a cooling in diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The ICC has given Pakistan-India series icon status, similar to the Ashes, so that in one cycle of the FTP three bilateral series should be played between the sides as opposed to twice as happens between other, non-iconic contests. But there is a concern within the board that the ICC has not pushed enough for contests to resume; an India series remains cricket's golden egg in financial terms

It is understood that feelers have been sent at state and diplomatic level to initiate cricket ties but in the near future, according to Ahmed, a full resumption is off the table.

"If you look at our FTP for this year, we have such few slots between now and 2012 and where we have slots India is occupied," Ahmed said. "So if an opportunity comes it won't be a full-fledged tour, it might be in a small slot, a short tour. We are working with all boards on FTP negotiations, including India and wherever we see slots we can fill them in."

In fact, Pakistan's commitments in the next year have put a number of potential series and tours on hold for now. Zimbabwe were due to visit in December for a series of fund-raising games - which would be the first visit by an international side since the Lahore attacks in March 2009 - but no suitable slot could be found; Ahmed said this month was a possibility but as it coincided with the Islamic month of Muharram, government advice was to push the tour to a later date. The ICC task force's plan for a World XI visit to Pakistan, to potentially kickstart the return of international cricket to the country, also fell prey to a packed schedule.

"Trying to bring international cricket back to Pakistan is an ongoing process of negotiations that we have with different boards," Ahmed said. "But this process will be gradual. To change perceptions about security we will have to start with junior tours that will give confidence to other boards and only then can full-fledged tours begin. This process will be slow and a lot will depend on the security situation in Pakistan."

With this in mind, there is the prospect of a visit from a Bangladesh representative team at some point. "With Bangladesh we have initially discussed on a preliminary basis a junior level tour and hopefully something will materialise."