LAHORE: Nearly after 2 decades, the national cricket of New Zealand has arrived in Islamabad for playing three One Days and five T20Is, which will be played from 17 September to 3 October in Rawalpindi and Lahore respectively.
Team Green has last played against the visitors in the year 2003, where the host team has won all five ODI matches. Following that, Pakistan has hosted New Zealand thrice but all of these series were played in Emirates.
Great to have arrived in Islamabad 🏏
Thanks for the warm welcome @TheRealPCB 🇵🇰 #PAKvNZ #CricketNation https://t.co/dmLaq7gygg
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) September 11, 2021
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board officials said the Kiwis arrived in the country via a charter flight and are currently staying at an accommodation facility where they will undergo COVID-19 testing soon.
After Covid testing, the visitors will be allowed to start training. An intra-squad match for the New Zealand cricket team is scheduled for coming Wednesday (Sept 15).
Furthermore, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have agreed to change the status of the ODI series to a bilateral series from the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League fixtures due to the non-availability of the Decision Review System (DRS).
The PCB officials revealed the development in a press release earlier today which stated “As New Zealand will return to Pakistan in the 2022-23 season to play two Tests and three ODIs, the two boards have agreed that these 50-over matches will now count towards the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 qualification”.
The white ball series will be played at the Rawalpindi Stadium, with matches scheduled for Sept 17, 19, and 21, while the Gaddafi Stadium will host five T20s which will be held from Sept 25 to Oct 3.
Schedule of coming series
| Sept 11 | Arrival in Islamabad |
| Sept 12-14 | Room isolation |
| Sept 15-16 | Training/practice/intra-squad match |
| Sept 17 | 1st ODI, Rawalpindi |
| Sept 19 | 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi |
| Sept 21 | 3rd ODI, Rawalpindi |
| Sept 25 | 1st T20I, Lahore |
| Sept 26 | 2nd T20I, Lahore |
| Sept 29 | 3rd T20I, Lahore |
| Oct 01 | 4th T20I, Lahore |
| Oct 03 | 5th T20I, Lahore |
Let be known that England’s men and women sides will play T20 in Karachi before West Indies are expected to arrive in December for three ODIs and three T20 Internationals.
Following that, Australia will undertake a full tour in Feb 2022 in what would be their first trip to Pakistan since 1998.
