KINGSTON: The West Indies-Pakistan T20Iseries has been trimmed down to four games following fixture changes in the ODI series between the hosts and Australia.
The T20 leg of Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies was initially scheduled to be a five-match campaign kicking off on Tuesday, 27 July. The first match has now been cancelled with the revised four-game series to begin on Wednesday, 28 July.
The series opener will be played at Kensington Oval, Barbados before the tour moves to the Guyana National Stadium for the final three T20Is.
The shuffle comes after a positive COVID-19 test in a non-playing member of the West Indies camp forced the second and third ODIs against Australia to be shifted. The third and final ODI between West Indies and Australia will be played on Monday, 27 July.
“Together with the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), CWI (Cricket West Indies) have examined various scenarios, and we jointly agreed that the best solution in the present circumstances is to cancel the first T20I and play a four-match T20I series starting on Wednesday and keep the rest of the tour schedule unchanged,” Ricky Skerritt, CWI President, said.
“We want to express our gratitude to the PCB Chairman, Ehsan Mani and CEO, Wasim Khan, and the Pakistan team for their understanding in this situation and for agreeing to the revised match schedule.”
For both teams, the T20 series shapes as a pivotal step in their preparations for the T20 World Cup in October-November. Following the four-match T20I series, Pakistan will stay in the Caribbean for two Test matches.
Fixtures
First T20I: 28 July, at Kensington Oval
Second T20I: 31 July, at Guyana National Stadium
Third T20I: 1 August, at Guyana National Stadium
Fourth T20I: 3 August, at Guyana National Stadium
First Test: 12-16 August, at Sabina Park
Second Test: 20-24 August, at Sabina Park
