Bangladesh tour of Pakistan to go ahead, PCB confirms with series reduced to three T20Is from five

Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play five T20Is in Pakistan from 25 May to 3 June after a short trip to the United Arab Emirates. The Tigers, however, will be playing an additional match in the UAE, with the series against Pakistan getting shortened by a couple of games. read more

The upcoming T20I series between Pakistan and Bangladesh has been reduced to three matches from five. AFP

Bangladesh will travel to Pakistan for a T20I series after their ongoing tour of the United Arab Emirates, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Tuesday. The Tigers, however, are set for a shorter stay in Pakistan with the number of matches that they will be playing getting reduced.

Bangladesh were originally scheduled to take part in a five-match Twenty20 International series in Pakistan after playing two games in the same format in the UAE. The tour of Pakistan was originally scheduled to get underway from Sunday, 25 May.

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Their tour of the UAE, in which they play all of their matches in Sharjah, however, got extended with an additional match set to take place on 21 May, making it a three-match T20I series. And the corresponding series in Pakistan has been reduced to a three-match affair, with Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium set to host all of the matches.

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The PCB is yet to announce fresh dates for the curtailed series against Bangladesh, which will be taking place after the conclusion of the ongoing Pakistan Super League – which was originally scheduled to conclude on 18 May but has been extended till 25 May – the day the first Pakistan-Bangladesh T20I was scheduled to take place in Faisalabad.

“PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi… convinced them of full security and the series now comprises three T20Is instead of five,” a board press release said.

The tour was initially under doubt due to the volatile situation in South Asia following the recent military standoff between nuclear powers India and Pakistan, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board having made it clear they would be going ahead with the tour only if they were guaranteed the safety of their players, support staff and other members of the touring party.

This will be Bangladesh’s second visit to Pakistan this year; they had played two out of their three Champions Trophy games in Pakistan in February.

After suffering a six-wicket loss against India in Dubai, played both of their remaining matches in Rawalpindi – suffering a five-wicket loss against New Zealand before their final game of the tournament against hosts Pakistan was washed out without a ball bowled.

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