The Pakistan Cricket Team have a busy year ahead with lots of tough tours lined up. The Sarfraz Ahmed-led team had a pretty low key 2018 with a lot of ups and downs. There is pressure on Mickey Arthur to deliver and after a flying start with a win at the Champions Trophy 2017, it has not been all rosy. Let us have a quick look at the schedule of the Green Shirts in 2019 and what challenges lie ahead. Indian Cricket Team Schedule in 2019: List of Series to be Played by Team India Including ICC Cricket World Cup.

Pakistan tour of South Africa (January – February): A tough series with the Proteas in their backyard marks the beginning of the Pakistan cricket calendar. They play 3 Tests, 5 ODI and 3 T20 games against South Africa with Centurion, Cape Town and Johannesburg hosting the three Test matches. The ODI series in Johannesburg on January 19th followed by second ODI at Kingsmead Durban on the 22nd of January. The third ODI is slated for January 25 at Centurion followed by Johannesburg hosting the fourth ODI on 27th January. The ODI series comes to an end on 30th January at Cape Town. After the ODI series is done and dusted, there will be three T20 games on 1st, 3rd, and 6th February at Cape Town, Johannesburg and Centurion respectively.

Australia tour of Pakistan (March): The Oz will be taking on Pakistan in a five-match ODI series which is originally scheduled to take place in UAE. There is an effort by the PCB to get Australia playing a part of the series in Pakistan which is plagued by security issues. The decision is pending with Cricket Australia hence venues and dates of the matches are yet to finalised.

Pakistan tour of England (May): Pakistan touring England in the past has created a lot of news for both the right and the wrong reasons. The Green Shirts travel to England to take part in 5 ODIs and a one-off T20 game. The T20 game is to take place at Cardiff on the 5th of May. The opening ODI game is on May 8 in London, followed by the second ODI in Southampton on the 11th May. The next three games are on May 14, May 17 and May 19 in Bristol, Nottingham, and Leeds respectively. The team will then take a few days off before it starts preparing for the ICC World Cup 2019.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 (May-June -July): The biggest trophy in cricket, the 2019 World Cup will see Pakistan playing its first game against the West Indies on 31st May 2019. They play host England next on 3rd June, Sri Lanka on 7th June, defending champions Australia on 12th June, arch-rivals India on 16th June, South Africa on 23rd June, New Zealand on 26th June, Afghanistan on 29th June and Bangladesh will be their last pool opponent whom they will play on 5th July. The final of the tournament is scheduled on the 14th of July at Lords. AFC Asian Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup and Other Top Sporting Events to Look Forward to in 2019

Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan (October): Sri Lankan cricket team is scheduled to travel to UAE to take part in a two Test series against Pakistan. The dates have not yet come in but the boards have agreed in principle for the fixture. Both these teams have seen a lot of changes over the years in their Test squad and the series will be a closely contested one with no clear favourites.

Pakistan tour of Australia (November–December): Pakistan cricket team will be touring Australia towards the end of 2019 after a gap of two years. The last time they played Australia away they were battered in both the ODI and Test series and hence they will be for a reversal in fortunes. They play two Tests and three T20 games down under while there is no word on an ODI series on this tour yet.

Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan (December): The Men in Green end the year 2019 with another series against Sri Lanka but this time it will be the shorter version of the game which will be in focus. The two teams play three ODI and T20 games each and will be hoping to draw curtains on a highly competitive year with a big win.  Virat Kohli’s Magnificent Show in South Africa, Dinesh Karthik’s Last-Ball Six and Other Highlights of Indian Cricket in 2018.

In addition to these fixtures, the ICC Test Championship games will also start from 2019 and Pakistan will get to known about its opponents soon. It is safe to say that for Pakistan cricket fans, the coming year promises a lot of entertainment.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2018 05:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).