LAHORE: The Pakistan government has shifted the venue of the Pakistan-Australia ODI series from Rawalpindi to Karachi. It was Pakistan's Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed who made the announcement at a press conference here today. Although the minister was not ready to give a clear explanation for the change of venue, he said that the decision was taken for political reasons. This is the first time in 24 years that an Australian national team is touring Pakistan.
Australia will play three ODIs and one T20I in Pakistan. The first two of the ongoing test series ended in a draw. The third Test starts in Lahore on Monday. The decision regarding the change of venue came in the midst of this. Earlier, the ODI three matches were scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi. Now, these matches will be held in Karachi.
At the same time, Pakistan's decision is likely to provoke a number of controversies. A few days ago, there was criticism that the food served to Australian players in Pakistan was substandard. The change of venue is a setback to the PCB's plans to attract more international teams to Pakistan.