England remain in the dark over the fate of next month’s Test tour to Pakistan, amid reports construction delays could see the series moved to the United Arab Emirates.
Head coach Brendon McCullum called for clarity as England struggle to plan for a three-match series that is scheduled to start in Multan on October 7, little more than four weeks from now.
Rawalpindi and Karachi are also due to host Tests, but both venues are undergoing renovations ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy.
The Express Tribune, a Pakistani publication, has reported that the series could be moved to either the UAE or Sri Lanka, though it is thought the latter of those locations is unlikely.
One solution could see part of the series played in the UAE and the rest in Multan, which is not down to host Champions Trophy matches.
“We don’t really know,” said McCullum, when asked about the situation at Kia Oval on Thursday ahead of the Third Test against Sri Lanka. “But we can’t pick a team until we know where we’re going to play.
“It would be nice if over the next couple of days, we found out. And then we’ll sit down and make sure we’ve got the right team for the right conditions and the right opposition.”
Karachi was scheduled to host the Second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh earlier this week, but the match was moved to Rawalpindi because of the delays.
However, building work is now said to have started in Rawalpindi as well as Pakistan prepares to host what would be its first major ICC event since 1996.
The situation is made more farcical by the uncertainty over whether the Champions Trophy will even go ahead in its planned form, given India’s unwillingness to travel to Pakistan because of political tensions between the rivals.
England played two Test series against Pakistan in the UAE during the decade when international cricket was kept away from the country because of security concerns following the 2009 gun attack on Sri Lanka’s players in Lahore.
The Test tour to Pakistan two years ago was England’s first since 2006 and finished in a 3-0 series win.
