LAHORE: Subject to security clearance, Sri Lanka will conclude their series against Pakistan with the last of three Twenty20 Internationals at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Oct 29, according to the itinerary released here on Saturday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a schedule of nine matches during the Sept 28-Oct 29 series with nine of the fixtures to be staged in the United Arab Emirates. The series includes two Tests, one of which is a day-night clash in Dubai, and five One-day Inter­nationals and the three T20 games.

The PCB had been trying to convince its Sri Lankan counterpart to play two T20 matches in Lahore, but the islanders accepted just one T20 match in the city that came under terror attack during Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan in 2009.

A successful tour of the ICC World XI to Lahore next week (Sept 11 to 15) for a three-match official T20 series would not just pave way for the security clearance for the Sri Lanka to play in Lahore but gradually entice other teams to resume touring Pakistan in the coming years.

Schedule:

Sept 28-Oct 2: First Test (Abu Dhabi).

Oct 6-10: Second Test (Dubai, D/N).

Oct 13: First ODI (Dubai, D/N).

Oct 16: Second ODI (Abu Dhabi, D/N).

Oct 18: Third ODI (Abu Dhabi, D/N).

Oct 20: Fourth ODI (Sharjah, D/N).

Oct 23: Fifth ODI (Sharjah, D/N).

Oct 26: First T20 International (Abu Dhabi, night).

Oct 27: Second T20 International (Abu Dhabi, night).

Oct 29: Third T20 International (Lahore, night, subject to security clearance).

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2017