England To Tour Pakistan For Two 2 T20Is For The First Time In 16 Years

The Pakistan Cricket Board had initially invited England to tour the terror-ravaged nation in January but with the latter set to tour Sri Lanka and India during the course of the entire winter season besides the number of English players being involved in the Big Bash League, the trip was deemed unfeasible.

Both PCB and ECB have now agreed for the series to go ahead in October which also ensures that England with travel to Pakistan with their first-choice players rather than sending a second-string team.

England will arrive in Pakistan two days before the series begins. The two T20Is will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi on October 14 and October 15 post which they will depart for India to participate in the T20 World Cup.

 “The October 2021 T20Is will allow the leading England cricketers to access and examine the world-class arrangements we will put together, which will give them further encouragement and confidence to not only return in 2022-23 but also express their interest in the Pakistan Super League, which has grown to become one of the top leagues in the world,” PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said.

“The enhanced progress made over the last two years has been down to nurturing relationships with various cricket boards and international players, as well as building trust and confidence. The ECB’s confirmation further endorses Pakistan as safe and secure.” he added.

The talks of England touring Pakistan for the first time since the winter of 2005 have been doing the rounds as part of ECB’s return of favor after the former traveled to the UK amidst raging Covid-19 to play in the bio-secure bubbles last summer. Should the two T20Is go ahead without any hiccup, it would pave way for the three-match Test series between the two nations, which is originally set to take place in Pakistan in 2022 as per the Future Tour Program.