PCB announce Afghanistan, Sri Lanka fixtures

Afghanistan

Pakistan have announced their tour dates and fixtures for a series against Sri Lanka at the end of the year, which will feature three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s, all to be played in the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan have announced their tour dates and fixtures for a series against Sri Lanka at the end of the year, which will feature three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s, all to be played in the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan are still not able to host matches due to security concerns, and have adopted grounds in the UAE as their own since 2009, when a bomb was detonated near the Sri Lanka team bus.

The PCB said: "Sri Lanka shall be playing a full cricket series against Pakistan in its return bilateral tour 2013-14, which the Pakistan Cricket Board is hosting in the United Arab Emirates – with Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah being the venues.

"The tour itinerary has been approved after consultation between the Pakistan Cricket Board and its Sri Lankan counterpart.

"The tour commences on December 7, 2013 with the arrival of the Sri Lankan squad at Dubai, and shall continue through to January 21, 2014. The rubber consists of Two Twenty20, Five ODIs and Three Test matches."

Also part of the schedule is a one-off T20 against minnows, and sentimental favourites, Afghanistan, on 8 December, with a venue not yet confirmed.

Dr Noor Mohammad Murad, Chief Executive of the ACB, said: "We are very pleased to be able to announce with the PCB the T20 match between our two countries.

"We are excited by the opportunity to play against a full member nation, especially Pakistan which is our great cricketing friend. Win or lose, the experience gained by our players will be absolutely invaluable.

"One of the issues for Afghanistan cricket in recent years has been that we are amongst the top teams of amongst the other Associate and Affiliate members and we tend to win a high percentage of our matches against them.

"Our national team needs the challenge of playing against some of the elite cricket teams like Pakistan and Australia in order to raise their performance level. So far only Pakistan and Australia have given us this opportunity, but we are hoping that more Full Member nations will follow their example.

"We believe we can give the Pakistani team a good run for its money in December. T20 is one of our strengths and last year we gave India a scare in the T20 World Cup 2012. We hope to give the Pakistani team a strong challenge and, who knows, maybe even more than that."

Schedule:

Dec 8 – Pakistan v Afghanistan T20 (tbc)<br>Dec 11 – 1st T20 Pakistan v Sri Lanka – Dubai<br>Dec 13 – 2nd T20 – Dubai<br>Dec 18 – 1st ODI – Sharjah<br>Dec 20 – 2nd ODI – Dubai<br>Dec 22 – 3rd ODI – Sharjah<br>Dec 25 – 4th ODI – Abu Dhabi<br>Dec 27 – 5th ODI – Abu Dhabi<br>Dec 31-Jan 4 – 1st Test – Dubai<br>Jan 8-12 – 2nd Test – Abu Dhabi<br>Jan 16-20 -3rd Test – Sharjah

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