Due to terrible weather in Multan, the second and final Test between Pakistan and New Zealand, slated to begin on January 3 in Multan, has been shifted to Karachi and rescheduled to January 2.
As ESPNcricinfo reported on Friday, discussions were ongoing between the two boards to restructure the schedule because early January is predicted to bring significant fog and even pollution to Punjab, which includes Multan and Lahore. The Multan weather “already delayed aircraft operations and may possibly potentially result in the loss of playing hours,” the PCB stated in a statement on Saturday.
Due to the adjustment, Karachi will now serve as the host city for all four games of the series—two World Test Championship contests and three World Cup Super League ODIs. Due to the first Test beginning a day earlier than anticipated, the ODIs will now be played on January 9, 11, and 13. The first Test will be played from December 26 to December 30.
Early in December, Multan played home to the second Test between Pakistan and England. Despite no visibility-related delays, the air quality there was noticeably worse than it was in Rawalpindi, where the first Test was held. Fog at the time caused the trip to Multan to be delayed by about four hours, and visibility in the early morning was much worse than usual.
However, by the time play started at 10 a.m. local time, the most of the fog had already burnt off, so there were no delays there. However, Multan has been gloomy since since and is expected to remain so. The highway between Lahore and Multan has been halted to traffic for many hours on multiple times during the last week owing to foggy weather.
Revised itinerary
December 26 to 30: 1st Test
January 2 to 6: 2nd Test
January 9: 1st ODI
January 11: 2nd ODI
January 13: 3rd ODI
All the matches will be played in Karachi