Pakistan to tour South Africa in April for limited-overs series
Johannesburg [South Africa], February 12 (ANI): Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Friday announced the expanded itinerary for Pakistan's limited-overs tour to South Africa in April that will wrap up the Proteas' international summer.
"The tour is scheduled to run from April 2 to April 16, 2021, with the sub-continent side arriving in South Africa on March 26 prior to the first game when they will enter a bio-secure environment (BSE) in Gauteng. They will go into a period of quarantine before commencing with inter-squad training," CSA said in a statement.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has agreed to a request by CSA to play an additional T20I, meaning the tour will now comprise of three ODIs and four T20Is with the games played in Centurion, SuperSport Park and Johannesburg, Imperial Wanderers Stadium.
"We are delighted to finally confirm the dates and full schedule for Pakistan's white-ball tour to South Africa," CSA Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith said.
"Pakistan has proved their status over the years as one of the most dangerous limited-overs teams and I'm sure they will give the Proteas a stern test on the Highveld. We will also have the much-anticipated 'Betway Pink ODI' take place during the tour and that is something further to look forward to for the players, the fans and all those associated with this iconic day."
"We are grateful to the PCB for agreeing to our request within a short period of time to increase the length of the trip by adding in a fourth T20, which will give us some much-needed additional international content," he added.
The three-match ODI series is set to begin on April 2 in Centurion, with the second game - Betway Pink Day - due to be played in Johannesburg on April 4. The last match will take place on April 7 in Centurion.
That will be followed by the T20I series, the first two matches of which are set to take place on April 10 and 12 at the Wanderers, followed by the last two games on April 14 and 16 at SuperSport Park.
PCB Director of International Cricket, Zakir Khan said: "We are delighted to help assist our fellow member countries in their plight to survive. We all have a collective responsibility to look after the game and its welfare together as ICC Members."
"South Africa and Pakistan's relationship is a long-standing and mutually valued one, and it was an easy decision for us to accommodate their request. We're all looking forward to a successful tour," he added. (ANI)
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