Dates announced for Pakistan tour

Pakistan will play three Tests and five one-day internationals on their tour of India, which starts with a three-day warm-up match beginning on February 27.

The venues for the matches will be announced later, but the Tests will start on March 4, March 12 and March 20. The first one-dayer was scheduled on March 28 after another warm-up game on March 26. The next four ODIs will be played on March 31, April 3, 6 and 9.

According to the schedule forwarded by the Indian board, Pakistan would kick off their tour with a three-day warm match from February 27 to March 1. The BCCI is expected to announce venues for the series next week after a meeting of its Programme and Fixtures Committee.

Abbas Zaidi, the director of the Pakistan board, had earlier said that they wished to play most matches in areas close to the Wagah border so that people could travel from Pakistan to watch the matches.

This will be the first time in six years that Pakistan will be playing a full series in India. The last time they visited India was in January 1999 to play a two-Test series apart from one Test match which was part of the Asian Test Championship. The Test series, remembered mainly for Anil Kumble taking all ten wickets in the second innings at Delhi, was drawn while Pakistan triumphed in the Kolkata Test and went on to win the Asian Test Championship.

Warm-up game - February 27 to March 1
First Test - March 4 to 8
Second Test - March 12 to 16
Third Test - March 20 to 24

Warm-up one-dayer - March 26
First ODI - March 28
Second ODI - March 31
Third ODI - April 3
Fourth ODI - April 6
Fifth ODI - April 9