England will play T20Is in Pakistan for the first time in 17 years
The men’s squad will play seven T20Is in Karachi (the first four) and Lahore starting on September 20, marking the start of England’s first visit of Pakistan in 17 years (the last three). Before England travels to Australia for the men’s T20 World Cup, the final game is on October 2. They will play their first Tests in Pakistan since the 2005–2006 trip when they visit again in December for a set of three matches.
In what the PCB referred to as Pakistan’s “bumper international season,” they will also host New Zealand twice, first for five ODIs and five T20Is in April of next year and then for two Tests and three ODIs in December and January. In late January, West Indies will visit Pakistan for three Twenty20 internationals. The only other occurrence of a lengthy bilateral series of at least seven T20Is was in 2019, when the men’s teams of Malawi and Mozambique played each other.
The Asia Cup will return to Pakistan in 2019 for the first time since 2008. The 2022 Asia Cup has been shifted to the UAE and will begin at the end of August, replacing Pakistan, which was initially scheduled to host the T20 Asia Cup this year. Instead, Sri Lanka was chosen as the new host nation. However, the 50-over version will now take place in Pakistan the following year, most likely prior to the 50-over World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in India in October-November.
The SLC was unable to organise a multi-nation tournament of this calibre in the middle of the nation’s economic and political turmoil, therefore this year’s Asia Cup was relocated to the UAE (although the SLC remains the host).
The T20Is versus England will take place in Karachi’s National Stadium on September 20, 22, 23, and 25, according to information provided by ESPNcricinfo in early July, before the action moves to Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium for the matches on September 28 and 30, as well as on October 2. Starting at 7.30 p.m. Pakistan time, all of the games will be played under floodlights.
In order to examine the security measures, a three-person ECB security assessment team went to Pakistan in late July. The group returned happy enough to give the go-ahead for England’s first trip to Pakistan in 17 years.
Since 2005, England has not visited Pakistan, and the two home series that Pakistan has played against them, in 2012 and 2016, were played in the United Arab Emirates. Due to “bubble fatigue” and growing anxiety about visiting the area, England also decided to cancel their men’s and women’s teams’ travels to Pakistan last year. This happened shortly after New Zealand withdrew its men’s team due to analogous worries.
