Brendon McCullum demands urgent clarity as PAK vs ENG Tests face risk of being shifted

England head coach Brendon McCullum has asked for clarification on the venues ahead of England's upcoming tour of Pakistan where the two teams will play three Tests with each other. Notably, all the Test matches are a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) and hold utmost importance.

The first Test of the series is scheduled to begin in Multan from October 7. The next two Tests will be played in Karachi and Rawalpindi respectively. However, there is uncertainty over the venues for the Test series due to the ongoing work in Pakistan's stadiums for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan's three stadiums in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi. As a result, all of these stadiums are undergoing massive changes. The renovation inside the stadiums has forced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to consider moving the Tests outside the country.

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Brendon McCullum asks for clarification over England's venues for Pakistan Tests

The uncertainty has forced England's head coach Brendon McCullum to speak on this issue. While speaking to the reporters ahead of England's third Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval, London, McCullum called for the issue to be addressed quickly as knowing the venues will be important for squad selection for the tour.

“We don’t really know (what is happening in Pakistan) but we can’t pick a team until we know where we’re going to play,” McCullum said.

“It would be nice if, over the next couple of days, we found out. Then we’ll sit down and make sure we’ve got the right team for the right conditions and the right opposition,” he added.

The pitches in Pakistan have been favorable to the batters in recent times. However, during the recent series between the Shan Masood-led side and Bangladesh played in the country, the pitches assisted the seamers as well. The highly unpredictable nature of Pakistani pitches makes the knowledge of venues an important part of the planning.

Alternate venues for the Test series

If Pakistan is unable to host the Tests against England, the series could be moved to either UAE or Sri Lanka. Abu Dhabi seems to be the likeliest venue to host the matches since Dubai and Sharjah are scheduled to host the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 matches.

Brendon McCullum was recently appointed England's head coach in the white-ball formats after former white-ball coach Matthew Mott was removed from the role following the team's semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup 2024.

England's previous performance in Pakistan

England had tremendous success the last time they played a Test series in Pakistan. The Three Lions whitewashed the Men In Green 3-0 in 2022 as the Bazball approach played a key role in the victory.

England are currently playing against Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series. They are already 2-0 up in the series with just one match to go. Ollie Pope is leading the team in the absence of Ben Stokes, who was ruled out due to a hamstring injury.