Pakistan Cricket Board set to move part of three-Test series against England abroad… as ground reconstruction works forces them to rethink the schedule

England are set to face Pakistan in the neutral territory of the United Arab Emirates next month after ground reconstruction work forced them to re-think the tour schedule.

Mail Sport understands the Pakistan Cricket Board are working to a plan of starting the three-Test series in Rawalpindi a month on Saturday, moving to Multan for the second match and concluding proceedings in Abu Dhabi.

The original order of matches was Multan, Karachi, Rawalpindi, but construction work on their major stadia ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy is behind schedule.

It means that Karachi is definitely out of bounds while this new configuration would allow work on Rawalpindi to resume in mid-October.

England have played two Tests against Pakistan at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in the last dozen years: losing by 72 runs in 2012 before being denied victory in 2015 when the light ran out on an expeditious chase of 99 runs in the final hour of the fifth evening. 

England are set to face Pakistan in the neutral territory of the United Arab Emirates next month

The PCB have yet to finalise their decision, but the Pakistan management is known to be happy with the choice of the Emirate as overseas venue.

Sri Lanka have offered to host to some or all of the series for a staging fee. Earlier this year, they lost revenue when the Under-19 World Cup was re-located to South Africa as part of an ICC punishment for government interference in the country’s cricket board.