West Indies to tour Pakistan for limited overs series in December

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Thursday (November 4) that West Indies will play three ODIs and three T20Is in Pakistan in December. This series will be a massive boost for PCB considering the abandonment of the New Zealand and England series earlier this year.

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New Zealand and England took a U-turn after initially agreeing to tour Pakistan. The former had reached Rawalpindi stadium, before the last-minute withdrawal from the series citing security concerns. Following that, England also decided not to play the scheduled two T20Is in October. This led to a widespread outpour from former Pakistani cricketers and experts.

Few of the West Indies players such as Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy supported Pakistan and said the country is safe to travel . And now, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja has confirmed that West Indies will be visiting Pakistan for the white-ball series starting from December 13. "After missing out on home internationals in September and October, the West Indies tour will formally kick-off of an exciting and entertaining season of men's international cricket in Pakistan with HBL Pakistan Super League 2022 and Australia’s first full series to follow," reported accordingly by Wion.

The series will be the first time West Indies play a complete limited-overs series in Pakistan after the 2006 tour. The Caribbean team had travelled to the Asian nation in 2018 to play three T20Is. The upcoming three-match ODI series between Pakistan and West Indies will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches.

Eight teams have direct qualification for the 50- over World Cup, which includes a direct qualification for the host nation India. The showpiece event is set to take place in 2023. West Indies are currently ranked eighth in the ODI rankings, while Pakistan are ranked sixth.