England will kick off their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years today with the first of a seven-match Twenty20 series which assumes even more importance for both sides ahead of the World Cup in Australia next month.
England were initially scheduled to tour Pakistan last year but it did not materialise because of security concerns. Jos Buttler’s men were only given the green light to tour this year after a security team evaluated the situation on the ground.
England will play four matches in Karachi and three in Lahore before returning in December to play three Tests in the second leg of the tour.
With Buttler set to miss the Karachi leg as he recovers from a knee injury, the side will be led by Moeen Ali, whose grandfather came to England from Pakistan after the second World War.
“It is going to be memorable playing in front of the Pakistani crowds and also an immense honour to deputise for Jos Buttler, while he recovers from injury, and captain England,” Moeen wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
“Of course, this tour is important for cricket and it is also crucial for us as a side. “Seven T20s will be a stern test in these conditions and a good pointer for where we are, ahead of the World Cup in Australia next month,” added the all-rounder.
England last toured Pakistan in 2005 but at least 10 members of the current squad have some experience of local conditions courtesy of their Pakistan Super League (PSL) stints.
One of them, Alex Hales, will be particularly keen to impress after his three-year absence from international cricket due to an off-field issue.
Another player is Dawid Malan who revived his international career when he guided PSL side Peshawar Zalmi to a title win in 2017 along with English teammate Chris Jordan.
“It was a fantastic occasion,” Malan said yesterday. “I don’t think any of us thought that us coming over would have played such a big part in cricket coming back to Pakistan. It’s a cricket-loving nation who were starved of their star players for a long time… to play a small part in that has been very special,” Malan said.
Sam Curran, currently part of the squad, also said he has had inputs from players who have appeared for PSl sides in recent times.
“We’ve heard a lot from the PSL boys,” Sam Curran said. “I spoke to most of them to ask what to expect.”
Pakistan, meanwhile, will look to shrug off the disappointment of losing to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final earlier this month.
Skipper Babar Azam’s slump in form, and their overall batting approach in 20-overs cricket, have been major talking points and Pakistan will look to iron out the kinks during the course of the series.
Azam yesterday said that he hopes a seven-match series against England will help him return to his best scoring form, after a lean Asia Cup earlier this month.
The 27-year-old managed just 68 runs in six games in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan finished runners-up to Sri Lanka.
“I hope to return to my best in this series... and it will be good if it happens before the World Cup,” Azam told reporters yesterday.
The lean patch saw Azam dethroned as the world’s top-rated T20I batsman, after ruling the rankings for 1,155 days, relinquishing the title to his opening partner Mohamed Rizwan last week.
Azam, who is Pakistan’s top T20I run-getter with 2,754 runs in 80 games, said he keeps things simple while batting.
“I think less about failures when going through a bad patch,” said Azam. “As a batsman your focus is to do your best to regain your form and it would be great to do that before the World Cup.”
Azam was the highest scorer in last year’s Twenty20 World Cup held in the United Arab Emirates, with 303 runs in a tournament where Pakistan crashed out in the semi-finals.
Azam said the England series was a “big occasion”. “Obviously they have come to Pakistan after 17 years so it’s a big series and will help us build us towards the World Cup so all the players will utilise this,” he said.
The matches will be held in Karachi (September 22, 23, 25) and in Lahore (September 28, 30 and October 2).

Squads
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood and Usman Qadir.
England: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Moeen Ali (vc), Harry Brook, Jordan Cox (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Richard Gleeson, Alex Hales, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Luke Wood