The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced to swap upcoming matches of the split series against Sri Lanka and according to which both the teams will compete for the ODIs and the T20Is from 27 September to 9 October first and then for Tests in December.

According to the original programme, the hosts Pakistan were scheduled to play against Sri Lanka for two World Test Championship matches in October and then play three ODIs and as many T20Is in late December.

“The decision to swap matches was made following a phone discussion between PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Shammi Silva on Friday,” PCB said in a statement.

Mani said that Sri Lanka Cricket supported Pakistan in its ‘efforts and endeavours’.

“The PCB is pleased with the outcome of its discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket, which has supported Pakistan in its efforts and endeavours for the complete revival of international cricket. The tour for limited-overs matches will also provide Sri Lanka with an even better understanding of the ground situation before discussing the schedule of the Tests,” Mani said.

“The upcoming matches will end the long await of the Pakistan cricket fans and supporters to watch modern-day stars from both sides live in action. This is something that will contribute immensely to our revamped domestic cricket structure,” he added.

Silva, on the other hand, said that both PCB and SLC have a long history of cricket relationship and friendship.

“The PCB and SLC have a long history of cricket relationship and friendship, and this decision only strengthens that bonding. The SLC is committed to playing its role in the promotion of cricket and looks forward to visiting Karachi and Lahore for three ODIs and three T20Is. The SLC security experts had visited the two cities earlier this month and had given a positive report, which made our job of decision-making easy,” Silva said.

Series schedule:

27 Sep - 1st ODI, Karachi

29 Sep - 2nd ODI, Karachi

2 Oct - 3rd ODI, Karachi

5 Oct - 1st T20I, Lahore

7 Oct - 2nd T20I, Lahore

9 Oct - 3rd T20I, Lahore