Pakistan vs Australia: PCB announces the schedule for the ODI series

The banned duo of Smith and Warner will be able to play the last two ODIs it seems.

Published - 10 Feb 2019, 15:35 IST | Updated - 10 Feb 2019, 15:35 IST

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The schedule for the five-match ODI series between Australia and Pakistan has been finally decided by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The series is set to commence on March 22, only a day before the Indian Premier League (IPL) begins and it has confirmed now that the Australian players will arrive late for the T20 tournament. This has also confirmed that the banned duo of Steve Smith and David Warner will be able to play a couple of ODIs ahead of the World Cup.

Though a lot depends on their fitness with both the cricketers undergoing an elbow surgery recently. While Warner is expected to be fit just in time to play these games, there is still a cloud over Smith’s fitness and it seems that he will only have a few IPL matches to prove his fitness. The series against Pakistan is also in continuation for Australia along with the India tour where they will play two T20Is and five ODIs starting from February 24.

Series to be played in UAE

The PCB’s attempt to convince the Cricket Australia (CA) to play in Pakistan wasn’t successful as the visitors denied playing in the country citing security concerns. All the five matches of the series will be played under lights (Day-Night) according to Pak Passion. While the first couple of games will take place in Sharjah on March 22 and 24, the third game will be played on March 27 in Abu Dhabi.

The ODI series will commence with the final two matches to be played in Dubai on March 29 and 31. The 12-month ban on Smith and Warner is set to end on March 29 and it seems that the duo will be cleared to play on the same day itself.

This also will be an important series for Australia as it is the last series for them before the World Cup which is scheduled to commence on May 30 in England and Wales.