Dublin, May 14 (UNI) Ireland have confirmed their men's side will tour Pakistan for the first time in 2025.
While exact details of the tour are yet to be finalised, Cricket Ireland released a statement on Monday to indicate they will travel to Pakistan next year for a tour that has been provisionally set to be held in August/September.
The two teams are currently battling it out in a three-match T20I series in Ireland in preparation for next month's ICC Men's T20 World Cup and Cricket Ireland’s Chair Brian MacNeice held discussions with PCB Chair Mohsin Naqvi in relation to their tour of Pakistan in 2025.
MacNeice indicated the discussions were healthy and it had been agreed that Ireland would tour Pakistan next year, in what would be the first visit of their men's side to the Asian country.
“We are delighted to have welcomed Chairman Naqvi to Dublin and we had a very productive meeting. The presence of the PCB chairman in Ireland was very much appreciated and is a strong indicator of the excellent relationship between the two boards," MacNeice said
“Discussions were wide-ranging, and included exploring men’s, women’s and Wolves-level fixtures
in the future. I’m very pleased that we were able to agree a men’s tour next year - this will be yet another historic first, coming after the tour to Pakistan by our senior women in 2022."
The ongoing series between Ireland and Pakistan is currently locked at one-game apiece, with the third and final match of the series scheduled to be held in Dublin on Tuesday, an ICC report said.
“The Pakistan squad have been excellent ambassadors for their country over the last week and have been very generous in their interactions with fans throughout their time in Ireland. We very much look forward to the deciding game in the series tomorrow and of course our meeting in the T20 World Cup next month," MacNeice said.
“The cricketing friendship between Ireland and Pakistan runs very deep – indeed, the first meeting between the two sides was in 1962 here in Dublin, and Pakistan has been our opponent for both our inaugural women’s and men’s Test matches," he said.
“We look forward to this auspicious tour and thank Chairman Naqvi and the PCB for their ongoing friendship and support,” MacNeice added.
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