Pak vs Aus: White-ball games moved to Lahore due to political turmoil in Pakistan

Australia's historic tour to Pakistan consists of three Tests, three ODIs and a one-off T20I. While the first and second Tests took place in Rawalpindi and Karachi respectively, the third is set to take place in Lahore. After the Test series, both the teams were set to return to Rawalpindi for the limited-overs leg.

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However, in what comes as big news, the white-ball games have been shifted to Lahore. This is due to the political turmoil in the country. The country's Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to face a no-confidence next week which may cause some unrest in the country. Hence, the games have been shifted from Rawalpindi to Lahore. Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad confirmed the same on Friday. 

An official from the Pakistan Cricket Board cited the political situation as the reason for the venue change. "All the four white-ball matches will be shifted to Gaddafi Stadium where teams are set to play the final Test of the series starting from March 21 in case the political situation in Islamabad stays the same till March 20," said the PCB official as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

It is to be noted that the players of both teams are already in Lahore to prepare for the third Test. The rest of Australia's white-ball players are expected to reach Lahore by March 24. The limited-overs series starts on March 29, which is just a few days after the completion of the final Test. In fact, the hosts recently announced their squads for the ODI series.

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As far as Khan is concerned, he recently praised Babar Azam for his monumental efforts during the second Test. However, he mentioned that he couldn't watch the match because he was “fighting match-fixing". Nevertheless, the third and final Test in Lahore promises to be an absolute cracker of a contest. Both teams would want to win the game and the series.