LAHORE, Mar 20 (EW): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday revised the schedule of the limited-overs tour of New Zealand to Pakistan due to “elections in Punjab”.
The Blackcaps are scheduled to play five ODIs and five T20Is with the PCB and New Zealand Cricket “unanimously” agreeing to make “tweaks” to the tour, the board said in a statement today.
According to sources, the itinerary was changed due to the upcoming general elections in Punjab scheduled on April 30.
As per the new schedule, New Zealand will arrive in Lahore and play three T20Is from April 14-17, before traveling to Rawalpindi where the final two T20Is and first ODI will be played from April 20-26.
The tour will end in Karachi with the remaining four ODIs to be played from April 30-May 7.
The PCB said that this is an additional tour by the New Zealand cricket team and the matches will count towards ICC Team Rankings.
The ODIs will also help Pakistan to prepare their side for the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, while the T20I will assist the PCB to continue with their rebuilding of the side for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the USA and West Indies in June/July 2024.
Revised schedule:
- April 14 – 1st T20I, Lahore
- April 15– 2nd T20I, Lahore
- April 17– 3rd T20I, Lahore
- April 20– 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
- April 24– 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
- April 26– 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
- April 30– 2nd ODI, Karachi
- May 3 – 3rd ODI, Karachi
- May 5 – 4th ODI, Karachi
- May 7 – 5th ODI, Karachi
