New Zealand’s cricket team arrives in Pakistan to play five matches

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The national cricket team of New Zealand cricket landed in Karachi on Thursday.

The Pakistan and New Zealand cricket teams will play two Test matches and three- ODI series.

The New Zealand Test team led by Tim Southee landed at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi and the NZ Cricket Board shared on media the glimpses of their departure from Auckland on Wednesday.

As per schedule, New Zealand and Pakistan will begin their first test match from Dec 26 at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi _ a day after Christmas to be celebrated on Dec 25.

Meanwhile, both the teams will play the second Test match at the Multan Cricket Stadium _ from Jan 3 to 7, 2023.

The Black Caps will play three ODIs from January 10 to 14 in Karachi after the conclusion of the Test series.

For the first Test match, Pakistan has announced 16-member Test squad against the historic New Zealand Test series.

Importantly, in Sept 2021, cricket team of New Zealand gave up its tour of Pakistan over petty security concerns.

At that the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan personally spoke to Premier of New Zealand, urging Jacinda Arden to review tour cancellation, but she flatly refused saying the security of her team was more important for her government.