England’s third Test against Pakistan is set to go ahead in Rawalpindi as planned following talks between England & Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould and the home board.

As revealed by i yesterday, there were fears that the series finale could be moved to Multan, venue for the opening two Tests, in response to ongoing protests in Islamabad against the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The England team are staying in Islamabad, which neighbours Rawalpindi, for the series finale that starts on 24 October.

But concerns that protests this week to coincide with a major international summit in Pakistan’s capital would threaten the Test were allayed when Gould met his counterparts at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on his arrival in Multan yesterday.

Gould, who reached out to UK tour groups and brought up the issue with the PCB after reading about the potential switch in Monday’s i, was assured that the Test match would not be moved.

i understands Gould was warned that the situation could still change but that the likelihood of England’s series being played entirely in Multan was now highly unlikely given the ramifications that would have on Pakistan’s international reputation.

After i broke the story of the Test remaining in Rawalpindi on Monday afternoon, a PCB spokesperson confirmed the news saying the third Test will be played in the city “as per the schedule”.

It will come as a relief to the 200 or so England fans in the country. They had already been forced to make a major adjustment to their itineraries when the second Test was switched at short notice to Multan from Karachi, where ongoing ground improvements ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy were not completed in time.

Having been unable to hold international cricket at home for a decade following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009, any more last-minute changes to England’s schedule would have potentially put off other nations from touring Pakistan.

The prospect of watching all three Tests in Multan, a city where security is so tight that foreigners are only allowed out of their hotel compounds if they are accompanied by armed guards, was an unpalatable one for travelling fans.

Derek Myers of Sport Link Travel outlined his concerns to i on Monday when he said: “England supporters do not expect to travel for a three-match series overseas and stay in the same hotel and stadium for the whole thing, especially as we are unable to move around the city freely without a military escort. I very much hope and expect the ECB will fight against this possible change.”

The message was seemingly not lost on Gould.