Watch: England Players Reach Pakistan After 17 Years For A Historic Test Series

England's cricket team arrived in Pakistan early Sunday for the first time since 2005 to play three Tests. England won a successful Twenty20 series in Pakistan two months ago, but have not played a Test match there in 17 years due to the risky security situation. They were scheduled to visit Pakistan last year but were forced to cancel after New Zealand cancelled their tour at the 11th hour ahead of the first one-day international due to security concerns.

Now, the Ben Stokes-led English team has landed in Pakistan for the three-match Test series. The first match of the series is set to begin on the 1st of December at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The England Cricket Team's official Twitter handle posted of the players landing in England. "Touchdown in Pakistan for our Men’s Test squad!" read the caption of the post.

Here's England Players' touchdown in Pakistan

Touchdown in Pakistan for our Men’s Test squad! 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/2GbRr1Xcw1

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 26, 2022

Earlier this month, there were fears of a similar pullout following an attack on former Prime Minister Imran Khan during a protest march in Wazirabad, a city in Punjab province. However, England's Test captain Ben Stokes assuaged all fears after receiving positive security advice.

"It's been a long time since England have played Test cricket in Pakistan. 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," Stokes said in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

"In terms of the tour itself, I'm really looking forward to it. I've never been there, and I'm quite interested to see what the security lark is like. I've heard it's pretty intense," he added.

The squad and support staff were whisked away to the team hotel under heavy security, which Pakistan has been putting in place since the country's resurgence of international cricket in 2015. Following the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan team, Pakistan was forced to play their home matches at neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates. However, Pakistan has hosted several teams in the last seven years, the most recent being Australia earlier this year.