Dates announced for England’s first tour of Pakistan in 17 years – Sky Sports

England will tour Pakistan in September for the first time in 17 years to play seven T20Is, with three Test matches to follow in December,
the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday.

England pulled out of their Pakistan tour last year soon after New Zealand had abandoned their tour of the South Asian country over security concerns.

Beginning on September 20, England will play seven Twenty20 matches in Karachi and Lahore in the first leg of their tour, all of which will be shown live on Sky Sports.

After the T20 World Cup in Australia, England will return to play three Tests in December, the PCB said in a statement.

“We demonstrated our event planning and operational skills in the highly successful series against Australia in March/April and I am confident we will be able to replicate these when England visit us for the first time since 2005,” Zakir Khan, PCB director of international cricket, said.

The tour represents England going back to the cricket-mad country for the first time since 2005, with security concerns preventing the ECB sending any squads to Pakistan in the ensuing years following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore back in 2009.

After Pakistan helped England get cricket back on in this country two summers ago following the coronavirus pandemic bringing the world to a halt months earlier, plans for a return to the South Asian country were put in place.

A joint men’s and women’s tour was proposed last winter but was cancelled amid New Zealand ending their own tour of Pakistan due to security concerns.

However, Pakistan have since played the Australia series on home soil, after a gap of 24 years, and also landed hosting rights for next year’s Asia Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Rob Key, managing director of England men’s cricket at the ECB, added: “We are looking forward to returning to Pakistan and playing these seven T20Is as the team builds up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

“We have been liaising closely with the PCB over arrangements for this visit and the Tests later in the year, and will continue to work closely with the PCB, British High Commission and other relevant authorities as we continue to preparefor these tours.”

After completing their T20 series in Pakistan, England will travel to Perth to begin a three-match series against World Cup hosts Australia, before they begin group stage campaign against Afghanistan on October 22.

The PCB said the dates for England’s three Test matches in Pakistan would be announced in due course, along with later visits of New Zealand and the West Indies.

England’s T20 matches in Pakistan will be their first since Jos Buttler’s tenure as captain began with successive series defeats to India and South Africa.

England T20 tour of Pakistan schedule

(all matches to start at 3:30pm BST)

Tuesday, 20 September – Karachi

Thursday, 22 September – Karachi

Friday, 23 September – Karachi

Sunday, 25 September – Karachi

Wednesday, 28 September – Lahore

Friday, 30 September – Lahore

Sunday, 2 October – Lahore