New Zealand to return to Pakistan for 5 ODI, 5 T20 matches
The New Zealand cricket team is set to tour Pakistan twice next season, the officials confirmed on Monday.
They will return to Pakistan twice in the next two years to make up for the postponement of their September tour in the country. New Zealand cancelled its September tour due to security fears just before the toss in the first one-day international was due to take place at Rawalpindi.
The two teams will now first face each other between December 2022 and January 2023 for two Tests, which will be part of the World Test Championship, and three ODIs, which will be part of the ODI Super League (for qualification for the World Cup).
New Zealand’s tour in April 2023 comprises five ODIs and five Twenty20s. Dates and venues have not been determined.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the twin tours by New Zealand to Pakistan were finalized after successful negotiations between PCB chairman Ramiz Raja and his New Zealand Cricket counterpart, Martin Snedden.
Ramiz Raja said: “I am pleased with the outcomes of our discussions and negotiations, and thank Martin Snedden and his board for their understanding and support. This reflects the strong, cordial and historic relations the two boards have and reconfirms Pakistan’s status as an important member of the cricket fraternity.”
“It’s good to be going back,” NZC chief executive David White said in a statement. “Our respective chairmen, Ramiz Raja and Martin Snedden, had very fruitful and constructive discussions while in Dubai, further strengthening the bond between the two organisations.”