Pakistan's Googly Leaves England Coach Brendon McCullum Searching For Answers

Pakistan's Googly Leaves England Coach Brendon McCullum Searching For Answers Photo : Twitter

England head coach Brendon McCullum has said that he is still not aware if England are going to play their Tests against Pakistan next month in Pakistan or UAE, as questions loom over the readiness of the stadiums. Stadiums across Pakistan are being renovated ahead of the Champions Trophy next year, with construction ongoing in all top stadiums in the country.

McCullum has called for clarity as England struggle to plan for a three-match series that is scheduled to begin in Multan on October 7.

Besides Multan, Rawalpindi and Karachi are due to host Tests as well, but both the stadiums are undergoing renovations ahead of the ICC event next year.

“We don’t really know. But we can’t pick a team until we know where we’re going to play. It would be nice if over the next couple of days, we found out. And then we’ll sit down and make sure we’ve got the right team for the right conditions," McCullum said ahead of England's third Test against Sri Lanka.

Karachi was scheduled to host the second Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan but it was shifted to Rawalpindi, the venue of the first Test, due to the constructions. Pakistan lost both Tests.

Meanwhile, Rob Key told BBC, "We have our operations team, people waiting to book our flights. I've heard Sri Lanka or South Africa. I don't think it will be there personally. There are rumours flying around. My guess is we'll be in Pakistan but that's a guess."

Building work is now said to have begun in Rawalpindi too as Pakistan prepare to host what would be their first major ICC event over the last 29 years.

The situation is made more confusing because it is still now assured that Pakistan will be able to conduct the Champions Trophy since India are reportedly unwilling to travel to the neigbouring country due to disturbed political relations.

England played two Test series against Pakistan in the UAE during the 10 years when international cricket was kept away from Pakistan due to security concerns after the 2009 gun attack on Sri Lanka’s players.

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