Ahead of their Test debut against Pakistan on Friday, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom has expressed his country’s willingness to tour the Asian country after revisiting the security situation with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) security team.

“We’ve seen the West Indies’ recent tour which went well. We’ve also seen that some Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches were held in Lahore and Karachi and went off well,” Deutrom told Pakistan’s Daily Express, as quoted by espncricinfo.

“Before taking any decision we will definitely discuss the situation with ICC security and take input from Pakistan itself, but I can see that in the near future, a tour to Pakistan is possible,” he added.

Also read: Malik sets eyes on 2020 World T20

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi, who will be in Dublin for the historic Test, however, insisted that there was no room for a tour in the near future as Pakistan have a packed schedule in the next 12 months.

“There is no such item for discussion on my Dublin trip agenda,” he told espncricinfo.

“The fact is that Pakistan has no slot available outside our Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the next twelve months,” he added.

Also read: Indian T20I squad for Ireland Tour Finalized

Deutrom also delighted to play their first ever Test match against Pakistan. He said on that, “We were delighted when the PCB agreed to play in our first Test. While the PCB has been very supportive of Irish cricket over the years on the field, the two teams have built up a good rivalry since the 2007 World Cup. Pakistan are a very apt choice of opponent and we are looking forward to the encounter.”