England decides to play two additional T20Is in Pakistan next year

LAHORE: England will play two additional men’s Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) to the five T20Is originally planned when they will tour Pakistan in September/October 2022.

The development was announced by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Tom Harrison announced today (Tuesday) following his meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja.

According to the statement issued by PCB, the England side will then return to Pakistan in November/December at the back of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022 to play three Tests, which will form part of the ICC World Test Championship.

ECB Chief Executive Tom Harrison said he had visited Lahore with ECB’s Senior Director Martin Darlow to talk face-to-face with the PCB around some of the things that have happened over the past few weeks, which led to the cancelation of tour in October.

“We’re happy to announce that we’ll play two extra white-ball T20Is on our men’s tour of Pakistan in September/October 2022. We will then return after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia to complete the Test match element of that tour,” he added.

Tom Harrison further said, “This is just to reaffirm our commitment to Pakistan cricket to getting England teams, men’s and women’s teams, eventually playing in Pakistan at home.”

“We also talked with our colleagues at the PCB around pathway engagement, how we can support proposals around the women’s game and some interesting ideas around the domestic agenda here in Pakistan,” he said, adding, “We’re going to build on these plans going forward together and we’re excited about that too.”

Meanwhile, PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said, “The ECB have shown their large heartedness to be here for which I am thankful to Tom and Martin. It means a lot to us.”

“We are excited that England have committed to playing two additional T20Is as part of their white-ball tour in September/October in 2022. We put in lot of efforts to make sure that all visiting teams are comfortable in Pakistan,” he added.  

“England has got a great team and it’s mind-boggling how they’ve produced so many match-winners in a span of about five to seven years. They play very engaging and attractive cricket, which is fantastic for the fans and a big advertisement of the game,” he concluded.