New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Monday confirmed that the BlackCaps will tour Pakistan for two Tests and three ODIs in December-January of 2022-23 as part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) and will return in April 2023 for 10 white-ball matches to make-up for the September 2021 abandoned tour.
The development came following meetings and discussions between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and NZC Chairpersons Ramiz Raja and Martin Snedden, respectively.
While the two Tests and three ODIs will be part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, respectively, the second visit will include two additional ODIs and will now comprise five ODIs and five T20Is that will count towards the ICC Rankings.
The PCB said that now with details of the tours and matches confirmed, the two boards will continue to work together to finalise the series dates, which will be announced in due course.
Commenting on the development, PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said: “I am pleased with the outcomes of our discussions and negotiations, and thank Martin Snedden and his board for their understanding and support. This reflects the strong, cordial and historic relations the two boards have and reconfirms Pakistan’s status as an important member of the cricket fraternity.”
On the other hand, NZC Chief Executive David White expressed: “Our respective chairmen, Ramiz Raja and Martin Snedden, had very fruitful and constructive discussions while in Dubai, further strengthening the bond between the two organisations.”
“It’s good to be going back,” he added.
After this announcement, Pakistan is now scheduled to host eight Tests, 11 ODIs and 13 T20Is against Australia, England and New Zealand in the period between March 2022 and April 2023.
Notably in September this year, the NZC had announced to abandon their Pakistan tour due to security concerns and had pulled out of the series at the last minute. The incident happened just few minutes before the first of the three ODIs in Rawalpindi when NZC decided to pull out citing security concerns.
Issuing a statement, the NZC had said: “The side was to play Pakistan this evening in the first of three ODIs in Rawalpindi, before moving to Lahore for a five match T20 series. However, following an escalation in the New Zealand Government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisors on the ground, it has been decided the BLACKCAPS will not continue with the tour.”
After the Kiwis, the England team had also cancelled their short limited-overs tour to Pakistan just before this year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman.