Faisalabad makes its way to Pakistan cricket calendar for Pakistan v Bangladesh T20Is in May after long absence.
Faisalabad will host international cricket for the first time in 17 years when Bangladesh visit Pakistan for five T20Is in May.
The Iqbal Stadium has hosted 24 Test matches and 16 One-Day Internationals, but when the first two Twenty20 Internationals of the series are held there on May 25 and 27, it will host T20I cricket for the first time.
The final three matches will be played in the recently refurbished Gaddafi Stadium, where Pakistan’s national team will play international cricket for the first time since the renovations. At 8 p.m., when temperatures are comparatively milder, all five games, which are played during the hottest part of the dry summer season, will begin.
Faisalabad is now the fifth city in Pakistan to host international cricket since the sport’s resumption after an almost ten-year break following the 2009 terror attacks against the Sri Lankan national team. It supports the four cities where international matches have been held during this time: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Multan.
Originally, the trip of Bangladesh to Pakistan was scheduled as a three-match T20I and ODI series. In order to prepare for the T20 World Cup, which would be held in India and Sri Lanka in February and March of 2026, the boards decided to substitute two more Twenty20 Internationals for the ODIs.
With the last Twenty20 International scheduled for June 3, Bangladesh is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on May 21. Although the formal itinerary for that series has not yet been finalised, the teams are slated to compete in four Twenty20 Internationals during a return series in Bangladesh in July.
Pakistan’s home season has been virtually nonstop since England’s visit for a three-Test series in October, and the series starts a week after the Pakistan Super League concludes on May 18. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is now playing Zimbabwe at home in a two-Test series.