Karachi ODI rescheduled on Bangladesh request

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday confirmed it has accepted the request of the Bangladesh Cricket Board to reschedule the one-off One-Day International to allow its men’s national team more time to prepare for the second ICC World Test Championship Test, which commences at the National Stadium from April 5.

The ODI was originally planned for April 3 in Karachi, but will now be held on April 1 with the Bangladesh team now scheduled to arrive on March 29 in Karachi. Pakistan are ranked sixth on the ICC ODI team rankings, 12 points ahead of seventh-ranked Bangladesh.

“The PCB is always happy to facilitate wherever it can and will be delighted to host the Bangladesh men’s national team for additional days in Karachi,” PCB Director International Cricket Zakir Khan said. “There is already a lot of excitement about the upcoming international matches and the PCB expects the quality of cricket will live up to the expectations of the fans,” said Zakir.

Pakistan won the first Test in Rawalpindi by an innings and 44 runs. Pakistan are sitting fifth on the points table with 140 points from five Tests. A win in Karachi will help Pakistan leapfrog New Zealand (180 points in seven Tests) and England (146 points in nine Tests) into third place.

India lead the championship table with 360 points, followed by Australia (296 points). The top two sides in the nine-team competition will qualify for the final to be held in England next year.