England Test skipper Ben Stokes has admitted that there were apprehensions ahead of the tour to the Asian nation after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was wounded in Wazirabad, a district in eastern Punjab province, during his protest against the sitting government.
England team arrived in Islamabad early Sunday to play their first Test series in Pakistan since 2005.
The ECB shared a video of the team’s arrival at Islamabad airport on the social media handles.
"Touchdown in Pakistan for our Men's Test squad," read the caption.
England's Test squad had spent time in Abu Dhabi as part of the preparation for the series against Pakistan.
The Three Lions will be playing a Test series on Pakistani soil after a gap of 17 years. They last played a Test match in Pakistan in 2005, losing the three-match series by 2-0. The visitors' had played a seven-match T20I series here in September-October, which they won 4-3.
Led by Stokes, England will kick off the tour in Rawalpindi — an adjacent city to Islamabad -- which hosts the first Test from next Thursday. The second Test will be played at Multan from December 9-13 before England round off the tour with the final Test at Karachi from December 17-21.
The Three Lions were due to tour Pakistan last year before the T20 World Cup in the UAE but abandoned the tour due to security concerns after New Zealand had aborted its tour to Pakistan just minutes before the toss in the first ODI at Rawalpindi.
Stokes said that there were some concerns among the players ahead of the tour.
"With what happened with Imran Khan recently, there was a little bit of concern, but we have Reg Dickason, who has been the security man for many years with England, and we left it in his capable hands," the England all-rounder said.
Last Monday Khan had met with the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja and British High Commissioner in Lahore and assured the officials that his protest against the government will not disturb England cricket team's tour to Pakistan.
