Pakistan to tour Bangladesh in November for three T20Is and two Tests

The series is set to begin five days after the T20 World Cup final, leaving little breathing room in case either side makes the knockouts

Pakistan’s men’s team will travel to Bangladesh in November for their first bilateral series in the country since 2015. The tour will consist of three T20Is and two Tests, which are part of the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle.

The tour is scheduled right after the T20 World Cup, which begs the question of what happens if either Bangladesh or Pakistan or both make the knockout stages of that tournament. If they do, there will be little time between events for even the customary three-day hotel quarantine for visiting teams.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to conclude on November 14. The three T20Is, which will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, will be played on November 19, 20 and 22. The same venue will also host the second Test from December 4 to 8.

The first Test is scheduled to be held at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram from November 26 to 30. This will only be the third international fixture hosted by Chattogram this year, after the ODI and Test against West Indies in January-February.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the BCB to host the recent matches against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand sides only in Dhaka, with visiting teams showing reluctance to travel outside the capital.

The last meeting between Pakistan and Bangladesh took place in January 2020 when Bangladesh toured Pakistan to play three T20Is (one of which was abandoned due to rain) and a Test in Rawalpindi. The second Test of the series, which was supposed to be held in Karachi in April, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

During Pakistan’s last bilateral visit to Bangladesh, the hosts won the ODI series 3-0 and also the solitary T20I, while the visitors won the Test series 1-0.