Sports Desk:

Bangladesh will play five T20 International matches during their Pakistan tour next month, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Wednesday.

The series, which is part of the Future Tour Programme (FTP), originally consisted of three ODIs and three T20Is. However, with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled for next year, both the boards have mutually agreed to replace the ODIs with two additional T20Is.

The five-match T20I series will be played in Faisalabad and Lahore from May 25 to June 3.

Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, which successfully hosted the inaugural Champions One-Day Cup in September last year and National T20 Cup last month, will stage the first and second T20Is of the series, scheduled on May 25 and 27 respectively.

The stadium will welcome back international cricket after a 17-year hiatus, having hosted 24 Tests and 16 ODIs between 1978 and 2008.

The historic venue’s last international fixture was an ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan in April, 2008.

Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will host the remaining three T20Is, scheduled on May 30, June 1 and 3. All five matches will begin at 7pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).

The Bangladesh team will arrive in Pakistan on May 21 and will train at the Iqbal Stadium from May 22 to 24.