Shoaib Akhtar: “England should definitely do a return tour”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has urged England to tour the country in 2022.

Akhtar said England “should definitely” tour Pakistan after the men in green travelled to England in the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and played three Tests and three T20 Internationals.

England have not toured Pakistan since 2005/06 due to security concerns after the Sri Lankan team were attacked by armed gunmen in 2009.

“This is the beauty of Test Cricket. One weak session lost us the series. A good series overall in Covid times. England should definitely do a return tour,” Akhtar said on Twitter.

While it remains to be seen if England tour Pakistan in two years’ time, Bangladesh have expressed an interest in completing the remainder of their series against Pakistan, while Zimbabwe are set to come to the country for a limited overs series.

Bangladesh travelled to Pakistan for a three-match T20 series in January and played one Test in February.

They were due to return in April for a one-off ODI and the second Test, both of which were supposed to be held in Karachi, but it was postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

With this year’s T20 World Cup having been postponed to October 2021, Bangladesh are willing to finish off their remaining games since it only requires a small window.

Zimbabwe are set to tour Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20 Internationals, and all the matches are likely to be held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Should there be issues holding the matches at the Gaddafi Stadium, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) may opt for the series to be played in Rawalpindi.

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