Faisalabad returns to calendar for Pakistan v Bangladesh T20Is in May

Faisalabad will host international cricket for the first time in 17 years when Bangladesh visit Pakistan for five T20Is in May. A total of 24 Tests and 16 ODIs have been played at the Iqbal Stadium, but this will be the first time it will host T20I cricket when the first two T20Is of the series are played there on May 25 and 27.

The remaining three games will take place at the newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium; it will mark the first time Pakistan's national side will play international cricket here since the redevelopment. All five matches, which take place at the height of the dry summer season, will start at 8pm, when temperatures are relatively more moderate.

The addition of Faisalabad to Pakistan's international venue list makes it the fifth city in Pakistan to host international cricket since it resumed following a near-decade long hiatus after the terror attacks against the Sri Lankan national side in 2009. It supplements Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Multan: the four cities where international matches have taken place in during this time.

Bangladesh's visit to Pakistan was initially pencilled in as a joint T20I and ODI series, with three games in each format. However, the boards agreed to replace the ODIs with two additional T20Is as preparation for the T20 World Cup in February-March 2026, scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh are due to arrive in Pakistan on 21 May, with the final T20I on 3 June. A return series in Bangladesh is scheduled for July, with the sides expected to contest four T20Is, though the official schedule of that series is yet to be confirmed.

The series begins a week after the end of the Pakistan Super League on 18 May, extending a home season for Pakistan that has been almost non-stop since England's visit for a three-Test series in October. Bangladesh, meanwhile, are currently contesting a two-Test series against Zimbabwe at home.