Bangladesh to tour Pakistan for five-match T20I series in May

Lahore, April 30 (IANS) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that Bangladesh will tour Pakistan in May for a five-match T20I series The series will be played in Faisalabad and Lahore from May 25 to June 3.

Initially scheduled as a three-ODI and three-T20I series under the Future Tours Programme (FTP), the tour has been revised to include five T20Is.

"The series, which is part of the Future Tour Programme (FTP), originally consisted of three ODIs and three T20Is. However, with the ICC Men's T20 World Cup scheduled for next year, both the boards have mutually agreed to replace the ODIs with two additional T20Is," PCB said in a statement.

Iqbal Stadium, which has previously hosted 24 Tests and 16 ODIs between 1978 and 2008, will welcome back international cricket after a 17-year hiatus. The historic venue’s last international fixture was an ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan in April 2008.

The venue, which successfully hosted the inaugural Champions One-Day Cup in September last year and National T20 Cup last month, will stage the first and second T20Is of the series, scheduled on May 25 and 27 May, respectively.

Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will host the remaining three T20Is, scheduled on May 30, June 1 and 3.

Bangladesh team will arrive May 21 and will undergo training sessions at the Iqbal Stadium from May 22 to 24.

Series Schedule:

May 25 – 1st T20I: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

May 27 – 2nd T20I: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

May 30 – 3rd T20I: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

June 1 – 4th T20I: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

June 3 – 5th T20I: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

--IANS

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