Pakistan invites England for T20 series in January

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has invited England for a three-match T20 international series in January next year.

England has not played in Pakistan since the 2005 season when the team toured for a Test and one-day series. The 15-year absence has been driven by security concerns but international teams have started returning to the country in recent times.

Pakistan was one of four countries that sent teams to the United Kingdom this year. England and Wales Cricket Board was able to reduce its losses rather a fully wiped out season and is now in discussions over a short tour in January as a show of gratitude for helping rescue the summer season

PCB CEO Wasim Khan has revealed that an official invitation has been sent to the ECB to send their team have created a window between 13 and 20 January to play the series. He clarified that the short tour was not related to the Pakistan touring England this summer for a Test series.

“When we took the decision of sending the team to England we were worried because of the COVID-19 and bio-security bubble situations and some people also voiced their concerns that might be putting our players into a health risk,” Khan said in an interview to a private channel.

He recalled that ten players had tested positive prior to leaving for the tour but they sent the team as it was imperative to resume cricket which depended on how well the bio-secure bubble worked in the series.

Wasim Khan said it is up to the ECB to assess the security and coronavirus situation and take a call on the invitation, adding that it will open the doors for other top teams like Australia and New Zealand to also come to Pakistan.

Pakistan has already invited Cricket South Africa to send its team in January-February next year to play two Tests and three T20 series. Pakistan will be hosting Zimbabwe for a series in Rawalpindi and Lahore in November.