Pakistan 2022 cricket fixtures: Australia tour and T20 World Cup

Men in green have high-profile series against Aussies, England and New Zealand lined up

Captain Babar Azam, left, and Mohammed Rizwan are the leading lights of Pakistan cricket. AFP

Left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi has made giant strides in international cricket. EPA

Fakhar Zaman is a big-match player for Pakistan. Getty

Leg-spinner Shadab Khan has become a reliable white-ball bowler. AFP

Haris Rauf is one of the most exciting quicks. AFP

Pakistan's Hasan Ali, left, offers a lot with the ball and bat. AP

It has been an incredible few months for Pakistan cricket and the next year brings the possibility of more memorable moments.

At one point, it seemed 2021 was going to turn into a nightmare after New Zealand and then England pulled out of their scheduled tours of the country at the last moment. Their preparations for the T20 World Cup in the UAE had supposedly received a body blow.

However, Pakistan turned adversity into an opportunity, taking the T20 World Cup by storm as they defeated India for the first time in a World Cup. Five straight wins took them to the semi-finals, where an extraordinary knock right at the end from Australia's Matthew Wade denied them a ticket to the final.

Still, it marked the high-point of a phenomenal year that also had a historic T20 series sweep in Bangladesh. Star batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan continued their record-breaking run in the shortest format - Rizwan topped the charts with more than 1,000 runs in the calendar year and Babar right behind in second.

Next year, T20 will be the flavour of the season as well as it will be Australia's turn to host the tournament they couldn't in 2020 due to the pandemic.

There will be other reasons for Pakistan to be hopeful. Australia have agreed to tour the country for the first time since 1998, while England are scheduled to visit twice.

Pakistan cricket schedule 2022

January-February

Pakistan Super League

March

Home series against Australia

March 3, 2022: First Test, National Stadium, Karachi

March 12: Second Test, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

March 21: Third Test, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

March 29: First ODI, Lahore

March 31: Second ODI, Lahore

April 2: Third ODI, Lahore

April 4: One-off T20, Lahore

July-August

Away series against Sri Lanka

Two Tests, three ODIs

September

T20 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka

September/October

Home series against England

Seven T20s

October 16-November 13

T20 World Cup in Australia

November

Home series against New Zealand

Two Tests and three ODIs

November-December

Home series against England

Three Tests