Due to “elections in Punjab,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday changed the schedule for the limited-overs tour of Pakistan by New Zealand.
Following “unanimous” agreement from the PCB and New Zealand Cricket to make “tweaks” to the visit, the Blackcaps will play five ODIs and five T20Is, the board announced today.
The timeline was altered, per sources, in light of the approaching general elections in Punjab, which are set for April 30.
In accordance with the revised itinerary, New Zealand will fly into Lahore and play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) from April 14 to April 17, then go on to Rawalpindi for the last two T20Is and the opening ODI, which will take place from April 20 to April 26.
The final four One-Day Internationals (ODIs) of the tour will be played from April 30 to May 7 in Karachi.
According to the PCB, this is a separate trip for the New Zealand cricket team, and the games will be used to determine the ICC Team Rankings.
The ODIs will also help Pakistan prepare for the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, while the T20Is will help the PCB continue to reassemble the team in time for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will take place in the United States and the 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
