Pak vs Eng: Full-strength England squad to tour Pakistan

KARACHI: England and Wales Cricket Board plan on sending a full-strength squad to Pakistan in October this year, a source in the ECB told Geo News on Saturday.

The England cricket team is all set to play two T20Is in Rawalpindi in October, the Pakistan Cricket Board had confirmed a day earlier, as the English team tours the country for the first time after 2005.

The source told the news outlet that England's cricket board will likely announce its policy related to the Indian Premier League (IPL) next week.

The development comes after Cricbuzz had reported that England’s IPL players are unlikely to tour Pakistan to play T20Is on 13 and 14 October in Rawalpindi.

The publication also claimed that ECB has allowed players to participate in the 2nd leg of the IPL, making some top England players unavailable for the tour.

The New Zealand Cricket has already announced a second-string team to tour Pakistan — letting its first-choice players participate in IPL.

However, the source in ECB said the board would send a full-strength squad to Pakistan.

“As far as we are concerned, we will be planning for the Pakistan tour with a full-strength squad,” the source said, adding: “A policy on this is likely to be confirmed by next week."

England is set to arrive in Pakistan on October 9 to play two T20Is on October 13 and 14, according to PCB, before flying to UAE for the ICC T20 World Cup.

The remainders of IPL 2021 are scheduled to take place in UAE from September 19 to October 15.