ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan cricket team will begin its European tour today, Friday, by playing the first of three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Ireland at Castle Avenue, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said. Announced.
This will be the first time Ireland will host Pakistan in a T20I series. The two sides have only met once before, in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2009, when Pakistan won by 39 runs, with Kamran Akmal winning the man of the match award for his 51-ball 57 and two stumpings. did.
Interestingly, Pakistan and Ireland are in the same group for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and are set to play each other in Florida on June 16. Apart from both teams, India, USA and Canada are also in the same group. The top two teams advance to the second stage.
“Our preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 started with the home series against New Zealand and we are now putting the finishing touches to our preparations. We have defined our game plan, strategy and combinations. It is important to put everything together before arriving in the US,” PCB quoted Pakistan head coach Azhar Mahmood as saying.
“We have only played Ireland once, so it will be a relatively new opponent for us. However, for any team in T20 cricket, a game can swing in the first over, so it could be dangerous. The three T20Is will give us good information about the players and how they approach T20 cricket.”
The remaining two matches will also be played at the same venue in Ireland on Sunday and Tuesday, with Pakistan playing four T20Is against England at Headingley, Leeds on Wednesday.
Following the England series, matches are scheduled at Headingley (May 22nd), Birmingham (May 25th), Cardiff (May 28th) and London’s The Oval (May 30th), with England and Pakistan will be heading to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. 2024 according to PCB.
England play Scotland in Barbados in their opening match on June 4, while Pakistan begin their tour against the United States in Dallas on June 6.
Meanwhile, fast bowler Mohammad Amir will miss the first T20I due to a delay in issuing his visa. He is scheduled to join the team on Friday.
squad
Ireland: Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campfer, Gareth Delaney, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Barry McCarthy, Neil Locke, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir (first T20I) ), Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
