After over a decade of abandonment in the ICC’s Future Tour Programme since 2009, Pakistan have finally received the full green light to host a buffet of multi-national and ICC tournaments in the next four-year tour planning cycle.
Reporting from ESPNCricinfo, Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive Faisal Hasnain expressed his excitement and gratitude to the ICC for removing all sanctions to allow Pakistan to host international cricket on their home soil once more.
“I am sure that our cricket fans will be delighted to know that top-ranked and attractive sides such as Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will visit Pakistan to compete in matches for the ICC World Test Championship," he said.
"Additionally, Afghanistan, Australia, Ireland and Zimbabwe will also tour Pakistan for the white-ball matches, which means 10 of the 12 ICC Full Members will play cricket in Pakistan during the four-year period. This is exciting."
With the exception of India, all eligible Full Member nations can expect to tour Pakistan between 2023-2027, move which Hasnain will require meticulous planning to ensure all three formats can receive equal exposure.
“We have given priority to context, quality, and player workload” he said in a statement.
“We have also tried to find an appropriate balance across all the three formats so that these continue to co-exist meaningfully.”
Due to Pakistan’s packed home season in 2024-25, new reports have now revealed that the PSL (Pakistan Super League) is now on course to become the first Twenty20 league to clash with the scheduling for the IPL.
The reason for this is because the Champions Trophy is expected to be played in Pakistan from February 2025, which is the usual timeslot for the PSL.
It has forced the Pakistan Cricket Board to push the tenth edition of the PSL to a window between March and May, which will mean that it will certainly overlap with the IPL, as it always begins in March and runs until June.
From 2023 to 2027, Pakistan is set to host at least 13 Test matches, 26 ODIs and 27 T20Is. Some of these Test matches will part of successive World Test Championship cycles as well.
The new future tours programme also suggests thatt Pakistan will also host two triangular ODI series - a rarity these days - at home: with South Africa and New Zealand in February 2025, and with England and Sri Lanka in 2026.
