PAK vs IRE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to announce Pakistan’s T20I Squad for the tour of Ireland and England on Wednesday. The development comes after PCB chief Moshin Naqvi held a media talk on Tuesday at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
Pakistan and Ireland are slated to meet for a short three-match T20I series, starting May 10. The fixtures of the PAK vs IRE T20Is will be held at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin. The second and third games of the series will be held on May 12 and 14 respectively in Dublin.
Following the completion of the Ireland tour, Pakistan is also scheduled to visit the current World T20 Champions – England. The two sides will play out an unusual four-game T20I series, starting May 22. The fixtures will be held in Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and London.
“We will announce the squad for the England T20I series tomorrow [Wednesday, May 01],” Moshin Naqvi, PCB chief, said during a media talk on Tuesday at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi.
Notably, Pakistan has also not announced its final 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. The deadline to announce the provisional squad for the coveted event is May 1.
Interestingly, Pakistan may enforce some changes into their T20I squad following an embarrassing series draw against the second-string New Zealand side recently. The Kiwis managed to pin Pakistan with a scoreline of 2-2 in the five-match T20I series held recently.
In spite of having a full-strength T20I outfit, Pakistan felt jitters in defeating New Zealand. Pakistan got the upper hand in the second T20I after the first game was washed out, but the visitors toppled the scoreline with their win in the third and fourth match. In the last fixture, the Babar Azam-led Pakistan managed to get hold of the situation and defeated the Kiwis to draw the series 2-2.
Meanwhile, Moshin Naqvi also talked about the discussions around the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan. The PCB chief brushed aside all the reports of the hybrid model of play and asserted that all the teams, including India, will be visiting Pakistan for the event.
“We have sent the schedule [of the Champions Trophy] to the ICC, all eight teams will come. There is no reason as to why India would refuse to come. We are not thinking of a hybrid model, there is no talk of the sort,” Naqvi said.
PAK vs IRE T20I Schedule
10 May: First T20I in Dublin
12 May: Second T20I in Dublin
14 May: Third T20I in Dublin
PAK vs ENG T20I Schedule
May 22: First T20I in Leeds
May 25: Second T20I in Birmingham
May 28: Third T20I in Cardiff
May 30: Fourth T20I at The Oval, London