The England Cricket Board has confirmed the Pakistan tour, national team will visit the country in the second week of September for the first time in nearly 17 years.
The Pakistan Cricket Board and ECB have constituted a special committee to finalize plans for England’s upcoming tour of Pakistan and to discuss a number of issues, including the tour schedule and security arrangements.
The seven-match T20I series will take place between September 15 and October 2, possibly in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan however, the visitors would prefer to play at Pindi Stadium due to security concerns.
Earlier this month, PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja met with British High Commissioner Christian Turner to finalize the details of England’s upcoming tour of Pakistan. During the meeting, the High Commissioner praised Pakistan’s efforts in cricket development.
During the meeting, the committee discussed a number of issues relating to the tour, including the schedule, security arrangements and player availability. A number of options were put forward and the committee will now meet again to finalize the plans for the tour.
The cricket board began stadium up-gradation last week in preparation for the England series, including the installation of new chairs in the enclosures of Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, National Stadium in Karachi, and Gaddafi Stadium.
The Eoin Morgan-led side was scheduled to visit Pakistan last year but the series was postponed following the abandonment of New Zealand’s tour at the last minute at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium citing security concerns.
It is pertinent to mention here that England will visit Pakistan for a three-match Test series and five-Match ODI series next year. This follows Australia’s visit to Pakistan for a full-fledged series where the visitors claimed the Test series by 1-0 and Pakistan won the ODI series by 2-1. Australia also clinched the 1-match T20I series 1-0.
