The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has moved the three-match One-day International series against the West Indies from Rawalpindi to Multan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday. The series, which is a part of the Cricket World Cup Super League matches, will be played on June 8, 10 and 12, and all the matches will begin at 4pm local time to avoid the scorching afternoon heat. The series was originally set to be played out last December, but got postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the West Indies camp.
Pakistan claimed the T20I series that was played before that, winning 3-0. With temperatures expected to touch high forties in the Southern Punjab city, the PCB decided to hold the matches at 4pm local time. Pakistan will hold their training camp in Lahore from June 1, before moving to Multan on June 5. Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan, both featuring in county cricket, are expected to arrive well in time for the series. The West Indies squad will arrive in Islamabad on June 6, before travelling to Multan on a charter flight.
Earlier, there was speculation the series would be postponed yet again, and the PCB had to issue a clarification saying, "no proposal is under consideration to postpone the series." "Holding any event in Pakistan would not be possible without the support of the local administration. Matches will be held at the venue where the green signal will be received, time is short for decisions," PCB had said.