PCB announces ODI, T20 series schedule, confirms New Zealand's tour to Pakistan after 18 years

Gulf Today Report

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday that New Zealand will tour for the first time after a gap of 18 years, to play three One-Day International (ODIs) and five T20Is.

The last time Kiwis visited Pakistan was in November 2003. New Zealand Cricket Board also confirmed the tour to Pakistan scheduled for Sept.17 to Oct.3.

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be the venue for the ODIs, while the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will stage the five T20Is from Sept.25 to Oct.3.

New Zealand — who won the ICC World Test Championship — will return to Pakistan next year to play Test matches, the PCB said in a statement.

While commenting on the upcoming tour, PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said that the ODIs, T20s and Tests series against New Zealand would be the "perfect start" to an exciting home season of red and white-ball cricket.

The 2019 World Cup finalists will draw tremendous attraction and interest from local fans, and will reinforce Pakistan’s status as a safe and secure country for cricket, Wasim said in a statement.

A bomb blast outside the New Zealand team's hotel in Karachi in 2002 cut short the Black Caps' last Test tour of Pakistan, but they visited again for an ODI series the following year.

New Zealand Cricket's chief executive David White said the country was looking forward to the upcoming tour. David White added that the Black Cap was the first country outside India to (ever) tour Pakistan and we share a close relationship with the PCB.

"It's great that, after such a difficult time for Pakistan, international cricket is again being played in the country. Following New Zealand's tour, England's men's and women's sides are set to play white-ball matches in Pakistan in October.

The West Indies are also expected to arrive in Karachi in December for three ODIs and three T20s. And later, Aussies are scheduled to undertake a full tour in February-March 2022.