In a setback to Pakistan cricket’s hope to normalise international cricket in the country, the much anticipated visit of the West Indies for a three-match T20I series could be set to be postponed.
According to a report by DawnNews, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have said that the visit of the Caribbean side is likely to be postponed owing to heavy smog in Lahore where the matches are scheduled to take place.
Heavy smog has become a permanent fixture in regions of North West India and Pakistan during the winter season.
The phenomenon has already seen many Ranji Trophy games in India cancelled or postponed last year and it seems it is likely to wreck havoc to Pakistan’s plans for the T20I series against the West Indies.
“The PCB and the West Indies Cricket Board had agreed that West Indies will tour Pakistan in November, but now it is unlikely to happen because of the smog and some other reasons,” the PCB official told DawnNews.
The tour is now likely to be postponed to March after Pakistan’s limited-overs series against New Zealand.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the PCB had inked a MoU for the Caribbean side to tour Pakistan for the T20I series some time back. The proposed series was all but confirmed after the successful tour of Lahore for the ICC World XI in September.
The dates for the series were tentatively set for the month of November which is usually the time the smog sets in.
