Australia To Visit Pakistan In March 2022 For A Month-Long Tour

Australian cricket team will tour Pakistan next year for a month-long tour to end their 24-year wait to play in the Asian nation. Australia will be playing three Tests, three One-Day Internationals and a solitary T20I match in the March-April window in 2022.

Australia playing in Pakistan after 24 years will be special for us: Ramiz Raja

On Monday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja confirmed that Australia will be touring to Pakistan next year.

“It pleases me no end that we’ll be engaged in a three-Test match series, connoisseurs delight,” Raja said in a statement, as reported by cricket.com.au.

“Australia are one of the high-performing sides, and them playing in our backyard for the first time after a gap of 24 years will be a special treat for the fans.

“Likewise, it will be a great opportunity for the Australia cricketers to not only play at our iconic venues but also feel and enjoy the respect, love and hospitality that this great country offers, something which most of their previous generation of cricketers missed out by playing offshore,” Ramiz Raja’s statement further read.

Australia-Pakistan to meet in T20 World Cup semi-final

The announcement comes just a few days before the two teams meet in the second semi-final clash of the T20 World Cup in Dubai.

This would be a big relief for PCB after they suffered embarrassment due to New Zealand and England teams pulling out of their limited-overs tour just a few months before.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley mentioned that they will be working with PCB to ensure their players’ safety is not compromised.

“The safety and welfare of our players and staff remains our number one priority, and we will continue to work with the PCB and relevant agencies to ensure that appropriate and sufficient arrangements are put in place for the tour,” Hockley said.

Australia last toured Pakistan in 1998, where they won the three-match Test series 1-0, and their 2002 & 2008 tours could not take place due to certain reasons.

After the bomb attacks against the Sri Lanka cricket team in 2009, which also included Trevor Bayliss as the then-head coach of Sri Lanka, cricket activities were halted in Pakistan for almost a decade.

Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Facing Australia In Semi-Finals Will Give Us Butterflies: Shoaib Malik