Sri Lanka team to visit Pakistan on October 29
September 10, 2017 12:22 pm
Pakistan Cricket Boarad (PCB) Saturday announced the itinerary for a full series against Sri Lanka that will be played mainly in neutral venues but features a planned finale in Lahore on October 29.
The series will comprise two Tests -- the second a day-night affair -- five one-day and three Twenty20 internationals.
The PCB hopes to host the last Twenty20 in Lahore, depending on whether a three-match series against a World XI team next week passes off without incident.
PCB director Haroon Rasheed said he hoped the match would be held as planned. “We have scheduled the last Twenty20 in Lahore with high hopes and it will follow our series with World XI,” Rasheed was quted as saying.
Pakistan have been forced to play their home international games in the UAE since a 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore suspended all international matches in the country.
Rasheed said the second Test will be a day-night affair in Dubai. “Day-night Tests are an innovation worldwide and it is aimed at attracting spectators to the ground after their office timings,” said Rasheed, a former Pakistan batsman.
Australia hosted the first day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide in 2015. Pakistan also hosted a day-night Test against the West Indies in Dubai last year. PCB said the Test series commences in Abu Dhabi on September 28 and will be followed by a day-night Test in Dubai beginning October 6.
The five-match one-day series will be played in Dubai (October 13), Abu Dhabi (October 16 and 18) and Sharjah (October 20 and 23).
Abu Dhabi will host the first two Twenty20 internationals on October 26 and 27 while the last T20 will be in Lahore on October 29.
Last month, Sri Lanka’s cricket board approved a tour to Pakistan.
Leading cricket nations have shunned playing in Pakistan since the attack, in which gunmen ambushed the Sri Lankan team bus en route to the Lahore stadium, wounding at least seven players.
Since 2009, the only international team to visit Pakistan is Zimbabwe, who played five limited-overs games in Lahore in 2015. Pakistan plays their “home” internationals in the United Arab Emirates.
But there were hopeful signs when Pakistan successfully staged the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) - the rest of which was played in UAE - under heavy security in March.
Addressing the Asian Cricket Council in Colombo last month, Sri Lanka Cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala called for an end to Pakistan’s isolation and urged countries to play there.
Source: The Nation Pakistan
