England Test series to be held in Pakistan, confirms PCB chief Naqvi.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday rejected reports claiming non-availability of the venues for the upcoming three-match Test series against England, saying that the matches will be held in Pakistan.
“No Tests will be played outside [the country]. Multan and Rawalpindi venues are final,” the PCB chief said during chat with journalists following his visit to oversee the ongoing renovation work being carried out at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the schedule for next month’s three-match series could be altered due to construction work at the country’s major stadiums.
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The matches are scheduled to be held in Multan (Oct 7-11), Karachi (Oct 15-19) and Rawalpindi (Oct 24-28).
But reports claimed that the Karachi Test was likely to be moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — Pakistan’s “home venue” until cricket returned to the country.
England coach Brendon McCullum on Thursday also addressed the issue while speaking to reporters at The Oval ahead of the third Test against Sri Lanka.
“We don’t really know (what is happening in Pakistan) but we can’t pick a team until we know where we’re going to play,” he said.
“It would be nice if, over the next couple of days, we found out.”
The former New Zealand captain added: “Then we’ll sit down and make sure we’ve got the right team for the right conditions and the right opposition.”
England did not tour Pakistan between 2005 and 2022, owing to security concerns, with the PCB staging matches in the UAE throughout that period.
Addressing the reports, Naqvi clarified that the Test series between Pakistan and England will be played in Multan and Rawalpindi.
He further shared that the PCB is in contact with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and “there are no issues”.
