Sharjah likely to host Australia-Pakistan ODI series next year

Sharjah cricket stadium, a bombarded venue, has the possibility of hosting the one-day series between Pakistan and Australia in March next year. Sharjah, which last hosted an ODI on 19th February 2018, played between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe is the home venue for Pakistan for all three formats. It was the home venue for the Afghanistan cricket team too until 2016.

At present, the historic stadium is hosting the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) and will also be hosting the T10 League along with the inaugural edition of the UAE T20X League at the end of the year. The other upcoming sporting events could be the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) while there is also a possibility that the Indian Premier League is shifted to the UAE due to the general elections in the country.

Ehsan Mani, the newly appointed chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), had an appointment with Abdul Rehman Bukhatir, who brought international cricket to UAE and discussed on how to revitalize the long-standing relationship with the PCB. Abdul played a major role in making Sharjah a major international venue in the mid-1980s, having hosted the 206 ODIs between 1984 and 2003.

Pakistan to resume playing at Sharjah

The decision to appoint Ehsan Mani was taken by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan to bring about a transformation in Pakistan’s cricket fortunes and to resume playing cricket in the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Bukhatir and Mani are reported to have had talks with regards to their common motive in promoting cricket in the realm.

Australia and Pakistan are currently locking horns in the UAE and will play the T20 internationals after a competitive Test series. However, the ODI series will be held only in March 2019 according to the Gulf News. It will be decisive leading to their preparation ahead of the 2019 World Cup to be held in England in May.

~Written by Aayushmaan Vishwanathan