Pakistan, Bangladesh drop ODIs from upcoming bilateral series

The Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket boards have decided to remove One Day Internationals (ODIs) from their upcoming bilateral series in May and July, respectively. 

A PCB official confirmed the decision to a Bangladeshi news outlet on Sunday.

Instead, the 50-over matches have been replaced with T20 Internationals (T20Is), keeping in mind the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka in February next year.

Before that, both teams will participate in the Asia Cup in India this September, which will also be played in the T20 format.

Initially, Bangladesh was set to tour Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20Is in May, as per the Future Tours Programme (FTP).

However, the tour will now consist of five T20Is. Similarly, Bangladesh was originally scheduled to host Pakistan for three ODIs in July outside the FTP program, but this series has now been converted into a three-match T20I series.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is currently engaged in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, where the hosts lead 3-1 with one game remaining.

Following this, both teams will face off in a three-match ODI series from March 29 to April 5.

Subsequently, players will shift their focus to the 10th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which will run from April 11 to May 18.