Pakistan confirms New Zealand tour set for late December

The Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Monday that New Zealand will tour Pakistan from late December, more than a year after abandoning a series there over security concerns.

New Zealand abruptly withdrew from their first tour of the country in nearly two decades, minutes before the start of the first one-day international in Rawalpindi in September last year.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said the first Test against New Zealand will start on December 27 in Karachi, with the second and final Test in Multan from January 4.

New Zealand will also play three ODI in Pakistan in mid-January and return to the country in April for a total of 10 white-ball fixtures across a four-week period that are included to make-up for the abandoned tour from September last year.

“New Zealand is one of the high-performing sides and the more we will play against the top teams in our backyard, the better we will get as a unit, which is crucial to our objective of featuring inside the top-three across all formats,” PCB Director of International Cricket Zakir Khan said.

“The New Zealand matches will also provide opportunities to our youngsters to continue to watch and follow their favorite players in action, something they have missed when we were forced to play our international cricket offshore,” he said.