IPL Forces Pakistan-Afghanistan Series To Shift To Sri Lanka From UAE

Afghanistan's three-match ODI series against Pakistan has been moved to Sri Lanka after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) expressed unwillingness to play host due to forthcoming assignments in the country.

UAE will host the remainder of the now suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 matches from September 19 to October 14 and will also co-host the T20 World Cup in October-November with Oman.

"Yes, we will host the ODI series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka," Afghanistan Cricket Board media manager Hikmat Hassan was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz on Saturday.

This will be the first bilateral series between the countries and will likely be played in Hambantota between September 1 and 5. The matches will count towards the ICC ODI Super League in which Pakistan are fifth with 40 points and Afghanistan are eighth with 30 points.

The two teams have played each other four times and Pakistan have emerged victorious in all the four games. Pakistan will be touring the West Indies from July 27 to August 24. They will play five T20 Internationals and two Test matches in the Caribbean.