Pakistan’s planned white-ball series against Ireland will not go ahead this September-October after all. Both boards have agreed to shift the six-match trip – three ODIs and three T20Is – to 2027, a decision driven almost entirely by an already jam-packed autumn calendar in Pakistan.
That window had looked tight for a while. Pakistan are in the middle of a limited-overs campaign against West Indies, then fly straight into a tri-series with the UAE and Afghanistan. On top of that, the recently confirmed Asia Cup runs from 9-28 September and South Africa arrive for two Tests in early October. Something had to give and, in the end, it was Ireland’s maiden men’s visit.
“We wanted to balance content and planning better across the two seasons,” PCB’s international cricket department told ESPNcricinfo. “It made more sense for us both to spread the fixtures further out as we already have substantial content leading into Asia Cup and then the World Cup.”
That quote more or less sums it up: the PCB fancy a bit of breathing space before next year’s T20 World Cup, and squeezing six extra games into a three-week slot never felt realistic once the Asia Cup dates firmed up.
How did we get here?
• May 2024 – tour announced, pencilled in for early 2025 home season.
• April 2025 – PCB season plan puts Ireland down for September-October.
• July 2025 – Asia Cup dates confirmed, South Africa Tests locked in.
• Early August – postponement quietly agreed, 2027 earmarked.
Ireland, for their part, had no immediate clash – their next firm commitment is a home ODI series the following November – yet sources say the decision was “mutual”. The Irish board still want that first senior men’s visit to Pakistan to be a proper event, not a shoehorned stop-over between bigger tournaments. From their perspective, waiting 18 months is no disaster.
Pakistan’s priority list is clear enough. They have already tried to convert the current West Indies tour into a T20-only affair, bumped ODIs out of a Bangladesh series earlier in the year, and turned the Afghanistan T20Is into a three-team contest. It is all geared towards giving Babar Azam’s side as much short-form cricket as possible before the world event in Australia.
Former selector and TV pundit Mohammad Wasim reckons the postponement is sensible. “You don’t want players flying in and out, switching formats every other day,” he told local radio on Friday. “Pakistan have to manage fast bowlers’ workloads and plan for the World Cup. Six extra matches in late September would have been chaos.”
There is a downside, of course. Fans in Multan and Lahore had been looking forward to a fresh opponent, while Cricket Ireland miss a rare chance to test themselves in Asian conditions. Ex-Irish skipper William Porterfield tweeted that the delay was “disappointing but understandable”, adding that a 2027 slot “gives everyone time to market the tour properly.”
For now, the official PCB fixture list still shows Ireland in September – that will be updated once the paperwork’s done. The broader point is unchanged: international schedules are packed, compromises are inevitable and, this time, Ireland were the easy piece to move.
