Daily Times

LAHORE: Rawalpindi will host the England men’s and women’s teams for the two T20I double-headers and the three women’s ODIs, instead of Karachi. The two double-headers have been advanced by a day, from October 14 and 15 to 13 and 14, and the women’s ODIs will be played on October 17, 19 and 21, instead of 18, 20 and 22. It will be the first time the England men’s team will tour Pakistan in 16 years. The two visiting sides will arrive in Islamabad on October 9. While the men’s squad will leave for Dubai on October 15 for the T20 World Cup, the women will stay back for the ODIs. The PCB said in a release the matches were rescheduled “due to operational and logistical reasons”. The PCB is yet to announce the timings for the matches.

“We are delighted to welcome both the England men’s team for what will be their first tour to Pakistan since 2005, and the England women’s team, who will be touring Pakistan for the first time,” PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said. “Both are additional tours with England men’s side scheduled to return to Pakistan in the last quarter of 2022 for white-ball and ICC World Test Championship fixtures.” England’s men’s squad was originally scheduled to visit Pakistan in January but the two boards could not find space in a crowded itinerary, and moved the T20Is to October as part of the T20 World Cup preparations. The two teams are grouped separately in the T20 World Cup, England in Group 1 and Pakistan in Group 2.