England’s first tour of Pakistan in 17 years will begin on September 20, as the men’s team play seven T20Is in Karachi (the first four) and Lahore (the last three). The last game is on October 2 before England travel to Australia for the men’s T20 World Cup. They are scheduled to return to Pakistan for a series of three Tests in December – their first Tests in Pakistan since the 2005-06 tour.
In what the PCB called Pakistan’s “bumper international season”, they will also host New Zealand in two spells, first for two Tests and three ODIs in December-January, and then for five ODIs and five T20Is in April next year. West Indies will also tour Pakistan for three T20Is in late January. In a statement, the PCB said that the itineraries for England’s Test series as well as the matches against New Zealand and West Indies would be released “in due course”.
The series will be the second of seven T20Is or more, with the encounters between the Malawi and Mozambique men’s teams in 2019 the only previous instance of such a long bilateral series.
A three-member ECB security-assessment team visited Pakistan to take stock of the arrangements in late July. The team went back satisfied enough to green-light England’s first tour of Pakistan in 17 years.
“We demonstrated our event planning and operational skills in the highly-successful series against Australia in March-April and I am confident we will be able to replicate these when England visit us for the first time since 2005,” Zakir said. “We have been able to confirm schedule of the T20Is following a successful tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board recce team, which was pleased and satisfied with all our arrangements.”
“We have been liaising closely with the PCB over arrangements for this visit and the Tests later in the year, and will continue to work closely with the PCB, British High Commission and other relevant authorities as we continue to prepare for these tours”
Rob Key
“We would like to thank the PCB and the city authorities for all their ongoing assistance with planning for the tours, including hosting the recent pre-tour planning visit by ECB representatives and the PCA CEO.”