Pakistan vs Ireland schedule announced, all eyes set on the new captain announcement

In a recent development, the Pakistan Cricket Board has released the National Men’s team’s schedule for the 3-match T20I series in Ireland, right before the series against England. The Men in Green, who are currently undergoing a training camp at the Kakul regiment, will play the 3 T20Is against their Irish counterparts at the Clontarf Cricket Club stadium in Dublin from 10-14 of May.

The series will serve as a very good breeding ground for Pakistan for them to prepare for the biggest event of this year – the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies later this June. The Green Army will be aiming to take one step forward in the tournament to try and possibly win it after finishing as the runners-up of the previous edition in 2022.

Pakistan may or may not be under the captaincy of left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi who was handed the leadership by former team Director Mohammad Hafeez. In their first assignment under Shaheen’s leadership, the Asian giants suffered a humiliating 4-1 loss in a 5-match T20I series in New Zealand 2 months ago. They had lost back-to-back 4 matches before claiming their only win in the 5th match at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Pakistan’s schedule for New Zealand, Ireland and England T20I series

Pakistan will begin their preparation for the T20 WC later this summer by featuring in a replay of January’s 5-match T20I series in New Zealand on home soil. Next month from 18th April onwards, the Asians will play 12 T20s, 5 at home and 7 away in their build-up to the World Cup where we might see Babar Azam return as the captain.

Although there’s no clarity regarding whether the Pakistani team will enter the tournament in the best way possible. They have a very good chance of finding the right balance and figuring out the best combination in their playing XI from these 12 matches.

It all starts with the 1st T20 against the Kiwis on the 18th of April at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium which will also host the 2nd as well as 3rd T20I on the 21st and 22nd. Then the series will head to Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium for the 4th and 5th match on the 25th and 27th with all the matches scheduled for a 7:30 PM start.

Pakistan will then take the flight for their European T20 tour of Ireland and England. The Clontarf stadium in Dublin will host the 3 T20s on the 10th, 12th, and 14th of May of the Irish leg. The 2009 T20 World Cup winners will then start the English leg on 22nd May at the Headingley Cricket Ground and the 2nd T20 will take place in Edgbaston on 25th May. Sophia Gardens and the Oval Stadium will host the 3rd and 4th matches 28th and 30th of May.

So it’s going to be a very busy few months for the Pakistanis and they will hope to at least win half of those above-mentioned matches.

Pakistan’s schedule for the T20I series

Following the conclusion of the T20I series in England, Pakistan will fly over to the USA and West Indies for the T20 WC. Their campaign starts with a clash against the United States on June 6. The much-awaited contest against Rohit Sharma’s India will take place 3 days later at the iconic New York City. Their group stages will conclude with matches against Canada and Ireland on the 11th and 16th of June.