Chris Silverwood says he would be happy for England to tour Pakistan in coming years

England head coach Chris Silverwood said that he would be happy to tour Pakistan after Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive Wasim Khan expressed his hope that England would tour the country within the next two years. 

“I think we are getting there, to be honest,” Silverwood said. “Personally I would have no problem with that. I've never been to Pakistan so it would be nice to go there and have a look.

“I know the batsmen would look forward to batting on their wickets,” Silverwood jokes. “Yeah it's obviously back in the topic of conversation and we're looking to get there.”

England are currently due to tour Pakistan in 2022, which would be their first tour of the country since 2005. But Khan said that he would like England to tour even sooner.

"England are due to tour in 2022, and we'd love to have them coming over well before then for a shorter tour,” he said.

“It’s something that we'll speak to the ECB about. But it's baby steps. There's a lot of cricket still left to play. But we're hoping in the near future England will definitely come."

Since 2005, England's away tours to Pakistan have been staged in the neutral venue of the UAE, which Pakistan have used as an alternative home. But there has been an increase in international fixtures in Pakistan in recent years, giving Pakistan hope that — should the security situation continue to remain stable — England will soon visit the country.

But Khan said that there are no indications of Pakistan being able to play India soon outside International Cricket Council events.

“Can India and Pakistan play again? It seems, probably, it's going to be difficult, I would say whilst the current regime or the current government is in place in India,” Khan said.

“We’ve actually got a cordial relationship with the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] but they have to go to their government for permission to play against us. I can’t see that happening anytime soon.”