'Tell me on time...' England coach gives ultimatum to Pakistan before Test series
The shocking defeat in the Test series against Bangladesh has made the Pakistan cricket team a laughing stock all over the world. Not only did it lose a Test match to Bangladesh for the first time, but it was whitewashed 0-2 in the entire series, that too at home. Now Pakistan is to face England once again at home but there are talks of this series being taken out of the country and this has given tension to the England cricket team. England coach Brendon McCullum has given a kind of ultimatum to the Pakistan Cricket Board and said that it would be better if the situation becomes clear in the next two days.
These days, the Pakistan Cricket Board is renovating some stadiums including Karachi and Lahore, so that they are fully prepared for the Champions Trophy to be held in February-March next year. Due to this, the PCB organized both the matches of the Test series against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi itself. Now the England team is going to tour Pakistan in October, but even before that, grounds like Karachi-Lahore are not going to be fully ready. In such a situation, discussions have started within the PCB on whether the entire series should be organized outside Pakistan in the UAE or only one Test should be played, where Pakistan has played many of its home Test series earlier.
Ever since this news came out in the Pakistani media, it has been continuously discussed and this news has reached England cricket as well. In such a situation, England coach Brendon McCullum was also questioned about this, in response to which he said that the sooner the situation is clear, the better it is. In a press conference a day before the third Test match against Sri Lanka starting on Friday, coach McCullum said that unless he knows where he is going to play, how will he select the team for the series? McCullum also said that if he gets to know about the venue within the next 2 days, it would be better. He also said that only after this he will be able to select the right team according to those circumstances.
Two years ago also, under the leadership of McCullum, the England team toured Pakistan and then cleanly swept the Test series 3-0. Looking at the current condition of the Pakistani team, this result seems likely to be repeated. As far as the series is concerned, it is not possible to play all the 3 matches in the UAE because the Women's T20 World Cup is also to be held in the UAE in October. The World Cup will be played from 3 to 20 October, while the Test series will start from 7 October. However, the World Cup matches will be held only in Sharjah and Dubai, so one Test can be played in Abu Dhabi but Pakistan will have to play the remaining 2 Tests at home.