LAHORE (Pakistan): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Cricket Ireland decided to postpone their two-T20I series in July after the Ireland Government announced behind closed-door matches can only be possible after 10 August.
This date coincides with Pakistan’s tour to England for three Tests and as many T20Is for which the side is scheduled to depart late July.
The matches in Dublin were planned for 12 and 14 July.
“It is sad that due the current Covid-19 pandemic, we have to postpone our tour to Ireland. We were looking forward to returning to the venue, where we featured against Ireland in their inaugural Test in 2018,” PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said on PCB website.
“We fully respect and endorse CI’s decision at this difficult time. As we have all reiterated, the safety and security of players, officials and fans comes first. The PCB stands firmly with CI in these difficult times and we look forward to revisiting Ireland as soon as normal services resume.”
Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom said: “With the Irish Government announcement on 1 May regarding the gradual process of lifting restrictions here in Ireland, it unfortunately became impossible to host the Pakistan T20Is in Dublin on the scheduled dates.
“We subsequently discussed scenarios around delaying the fixtures – or even playing them elsewhere – but with numerous complications around Government roadmap timelines, bio-security, quarantining, and scheduling harmony, it just hasn’t been possible to find a way to get the matches played.”
