Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has made it clear that it will not follow Australia's footsteps in pulling out of their bilateral series against Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, Cricket Australia (CA) withdrew from ODI series against Afghanistan which was scheduled to take place in March. They cited the treatment of women by Taliban as the reason behind the controversial step.
The board revealed that the decision after consultation with Australian government and relevant stakeholders.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) was miffed with the decision as they described it as an unfortunate attempt to enter the realm of politics and politicise the sport". Also, they accused CA of prioritising political interests over the principles of fair play and sportsmanship".
Asked about the PCB stance on the reasons for Australia's withdrawal, he said: "That is not our business and we don't like to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
"My personal stance is that politics and cricket shouldn't be mixed up, so following that principle the series is subject to pending approvals from the Pakistan government and I think approvals will be granted."
Sethi explained why the matches will be 20 overs per side rather than 50, with both teams already assured of a place in the World Cup this year.
He added: "I met with the executive members of Afghanistan Cricket Board and they were asking us to play an [ODI] series, but we didn't find any attraction playing the series.
"It's mainly because the series was meant for the [Super League] points, and now no matter who wins it won't make a difference. So we agreed to play a series of three T20Is in Sharjah just after the PSL [Pakistan Super League], subject to government approval.
"We will share 50 per cent of the revenue from the series equally and we will jointly outsource the production."
