After 17 Years They Set Foot On Pakistani Soil: Pakistan For A Chance To Fight Back: England cricket team toured Pakistan for the first time in 17 years. This is the first time the Three Lions will be playing a series on Pak soil since they last toured in 2005.
Many teams do not tour Pakistan due to serious security concerns. Last year, the New Zealand team visited Pakistan for a tour but returned due to security concerns.
New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan consisted of three ODIs and five T20Is. The first ODI of the series was scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi. But the New Zealand players refused to enter the ground for the match.
It was the first time in 18 years that New Zealand toured Pakistan in 2021. The two met in Pakistan in 2003. Pakistan won the series 5-0 that day.
After Sri Lankan batting coach Thilan Samaraweera was shot dead near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in 2003, most international teams did not visit Pakistan. The matches were held in neutral venues like the UAE.
Recently, after Pakistan legend and former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot, all the cricket teams were looking at the tour in Pakistan with fear.
But England’s Test captain Ben Stokes said that they are coming to Pakistan following all the security arrangements.
It has been a long time since England played a Test match in Pakistan. We are worried about what happened to Imran Khan recently. But we have Reg Dixon, England’s long-serving security guard, with us. The rest is left to him. “As far as the tour is concerned, we have decided to go ahead with it,” Stokes said in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Touchdown in Pakistan for our Men’s Test squad! pic.twitter.com/2GbRr1Xcw1
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 26, 2022
England won the T20 world cup by defeating Pakistan in the final match. Babar and his team are preparing to avenge their defeat in the final in the series at home.
England are coming to Pakistan for a three-Test series. The first match of the series will be played on December 1. The Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawal Pindi will be the venue for the first Test.
The second test will be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium and the third test will be played at the NSK Cricket Arena in Karachi.
England squad
Ben Stokes (Captain), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zach Crowley, Ben Duckett, Ben Fox, Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leech, Liam Livingston, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed
Pakistan squad
Abdullah Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Nawaz, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Waseem, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood
