Pakistan to take on Sri Lanka in UAE
Pakistan will play three back-to-back Tests against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE from October 18, followed by an ODI series
ESPNcricinfo staff
31-Aug-2011
Test cricket returns to Sharjah after the 2002 series between Pakistan and Australia • Chris Helgren/Reuters
Pakistan will play three back-to-back Tests against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE from October 18, the PCB has announced.
The first three games of the subsequent one-day series in November will be played in Dubai while Sharjah will host the fourth ODI on November 20. The teams will move to Abu Dhabi for the final one-dayer and the only Twenty20 international to be played on November 25.
Pakistan have been forced to play their 'home' series on overseas territory since the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009 and have favoured UAE as their venue of choice.
"We had a choice of neutral venues but we opted for UAE because it allows us to manage things smoothly," Subhan Ahmad, the PCB chief operating officer, was quoted in the Dawn as saying.
The third Test of the series will mark the return of Test cricket to Sharjah which has hosted only two one-dayers between Afghanistan and Canada after being ignored as an international venue since 2003.