The three-match T20 series between Pakistan and Afghanistan is set to begin later this week, according to PCB, and the Pakistan cricket team arrived in the UAE on Wednesday evening.
Following Australia’s decision to cancel its tour of Afghanistan, PCB chief Najam Sethi declared last month that Pakistan will play the series to “compensate” Afghanistan.
Australia was scheduled to play a one-day international series in the UAE against Afghanistan in March. However, the Aussies pulled out in protest over the Taliban government’s strict laws barring Afghan women from education and work in the country.
“Pakistan men’s squad arrived in the United Arab Emirates today to play Afghanistan in three T20 Internationals at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 24, 26 and 27 March,” the PCB said in a statement.
The Pakistani squad will have a news conference on Thursday before practicing ahead of its opening match against Afghanistan on Friday, according to the cricket board.
Babar Azam, the team’s all-format captain, and several other prominent players were among those Pakistan revealed earlier this month would be sitting out the tour. The board, according to Sethi, intended to offer Pakistan’s younger cricket players a chance to “groom” them for the future by playing against Afghanistan.
Khan was named the T20 series captain in Azam’s place by Sethi. Leg-spinner Shaheen Shah Afridi will captain a young side without any members of Pakistan’s starting Eleven, such as Muhammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, and Fakhar Zaman.
