Pakistan’s 7-week long West Indies tour starts today

West Indies will emcee Pakistan for a seven-week outing commencing at the end of March, constituting to two T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests expanse across five locales in the Caribbean. It is the pristine Pakistan tour of the West Indies since 2013 - albeit Pakistan triumphed five-match ODI series 3-1 and crushed a pair of T20Is - and their aboriginal Test series in the Caribbean since a drawn two-match series in 2011.

Nonetheless, there was no inducement regarding either concord for West Indies to expedite to Pakistan to stage a pair of T20Is in mid-March, undeterred by contempt discourse being adhered in the midst of the WICB and PCB regarding a fortuitous sojourn to Lahore. Aforesaid arbitration would demand confirmation from the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) in conjunction a security clearance, something that conceivably enigmatic posterior a report issued by FICA regarding player safety and safeguard resolutely dashed players from going to Lahore for the Pakistan Super League final, ingrained for March 5.

The Pakistan tour kicks off in Trinidad & Tobago, where the couple of T20Is will be capered at Queen's Park Oval from March 31. According to multitudinous wellspring, the WICB had reconnoiter the fortuity of orchestrate the T20Is at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, the aforementioned Florida venue where West Indies played a couple of T20Is versus India in August. Central Broward Regional Park officials entrenched that they had been approached by the WICB with regards to scope for dates en route the end of March but finally the WICB opted to retain all matches for Pakistan's tour at Caribbean venues.

Guyana will be the emcee country for entire three ODIs beginning on April 7. The ODIs will be pivotal rubric into the September 2017 cutoff date for 2019 ICC World Cup qualification. Pakistan are presently ranked eighth on the ICC ODI rankings table, the ultimate automatic qualification spot, with 89 points while West Indies are three points behind them in ninth position with 86 points.

If West Indies flounder to compass into the top eight spots by September, they must take part in the 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifier. That tournament is at present scheduled to be clutched in Bangladesh, albeit that may surrogate if Bangladesh - currently ranked seventh with 91 points - gains an automatic qualification.

Pakistan will have a three-day warm-up match at Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica starting on April 15 precedently the first of three Tests begins at Sabina Park on April 22. There is a three-day rest before the second Test begins at Kensington Oval in Barbados on April 30, although the final Test is scheduled to be played at Windsor Park in Dominica starting on May 10. As per the ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP), four Tests had been incipiently reserved for this series.

Pakistan crushed West Indies in all three formats last year on West Indies' tour of the UAE. West Indies were in ruckus from the onset of the tour after coach Phil Simmons was discharged on the vigil of the team's departure to Dubai. Pakistan progressed on to conquest both the T20I and ODI series by dead ringer 3-0 score lines before taking the Test series 2-1.