LAHORE, Oct 31: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will host a Test match between Pakistan and India besides a One-day International of the archrivals when they face off early next year, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on Friday.

Saleem Altaf, Director General PCB, told the media that he was going to Rawalpindi on Friday to inspect the renovation work at the stadium as the board was trying its level best to revive cricket activities there.

“Nov 30 has been set as the deadline for the renovation work at the Rawalpindi Stadium, and the centre will be ready to host India,” Saleem said.

India are scheduled to tour Pakistan in January-February to play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 International.

The Rawalpindi Stadium is expected to host the second Test from Jan 21 to 25 while the ODI on Feb 11.

The Rawalpindi Stadium hosted the last Test between Pakistan and India in April 2004 while the venue staged its last ODI featuring the same teams in December 2006.

“India have confirmed the itinerary and the PCB is confident they will be playing at the Rawalpindi Stadium to bring international cricket back to the venue,” Saleem stated.

He further said that Shafqat Naghmi, former PCB Chief Operating Officer, had claimed that the Rawalpindi Stadium would be ready to host the ICC Champions Trophy matches in September, while, Saleem added, the deadline for completion of the renovation work was Nov 30.

The ICC postponed the Champions Trophy till next year after some participating countries showed reluctance to tour Pakistan due to security concerns.

Earlier, on an ICC request, the PCB had already omitted Rawalpindi from the tournament schedule, restricting the eight-nation event to Lahore and Karachi.

Now the ICC wants all the Champions Trophy games to be played in only one city — Lahore or Karachi.

India’s successful tour to Pakistan will possibly prompt the ICC to go ahead to hold the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Saleem said the PCB was negotiating with the provincial governments of Sindh and Punjab to select Karachi or Lahore as venue of the matches.

He added that Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab chief minister, had given all-out support for holding the matches in Lahore and a meeting had also been held between the PCB and law enforcement agencies in this regard.