The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that the dates for the T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand in April have been changed. Originally, the series was scheduled to be played from April 13 to 23. However, the PCB has decided to shift the dates back by a day. The series will now begin on April 14, with the final T20I match taking place on April 24. The remaining T20I matches will now be played on 15, 17 and 20 April.
The PCB has also tweaked the schedule for the subsequent ODI leg of the tour. The ODI series will still commence on April 26 and end on May 7, as initially planned. However, the second, third and fourth ODIs have been moved to April 30, May 3 and May 5, respectively. The ODIs will not be a part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, but they will still assist both teams in preparing for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 later this year.
According to the PCB release, the matches will count towards ICC Team Rankings. The ODI matches will assist Pakistan in preparing for the ACC Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Meanwhile, the T20I matches will assist the PCB in continuing the rebuilding of the team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the USA and West Indies in June/July 2024.
Revised itinerary for Pakistan versus New Zealand white-ball series:
- Apr 14 – 1st T20I, Lahore
- Apr 15 – 2nd T20I, Lahore
- Apr 17 – 3rd T20I, Lahore
- Apr 20 – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
- Apr 24 – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
- Apr 26 – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
- Apr 30 – 2nd ODI, Karachi
- May 3 – 3rd ODI, Karachi
- May 5 – 4th ODI, Karachi
- May 7 – 5th ODI, Karachi