ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will play three T20Is against Afghanistan in Sharjah by the end of March, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) boss Najam Sethi announced on Sunday, a day after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting took place in Bahrain.
Australia were scheduled to play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) in the UAE in March. However, Cricket Australia announced they were withdrawing from the series in protest against the Taliban government’s restrictions on women’s education and employment in the country.
Sethi, who serves as the chair of the PCB’s managing committee, wrote on Twitter that Pakistan would play three T20Is against Afghanistan to “compensate” Afghanistan for the Australia pullout.
“Pleased to announce PCB will play 3xT20s against Afghanistan in Sharjah end March to compensate Afghanistan following Australia’s pullout from bi lateral series against it,” Sethi said.
Sethi’s announcement comes on the heels of the ACC’s executive board meeting held in Bahrain on Saturday. During the meeting, the issue of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 venue also came up for discussion, according to the PCB.
Pakistan are slated to host the Asia Cup 2023 tournament. However, the matter became controversial in October last year after Indian cricket board chief and ACC president, Jay Shah, said India would not travel to Pakistan to take part in the tournament. Shah suggested a neutral venue for the tournament.
“The Board agreed to continue discussions on operations, timelines, and any other specifics with a view to ensure the success of the tournament,” the PCB said in a statement last week. “An update on the matter would be taken on the next ACC Executive Board Meeting to be held in March 2023.”
As per various international media reports, Sethi told Shah point-blank that if India does not play Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan, the green shirts would consider not going to India for the 50-over ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in India later this year.
