PCB changes Pak-New Zealand series schedule

Schedule changed due to elections in Punjab; Tour will start from Lahore to Pindi and Karachi

Due to elections in Punjab the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday changed the schedule for New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan.

The PCB and New Zealand Cricket unanimously agreed to make “tweaks” to the tour, the board said in a statement today, and the Blackcaps will now play five ODIs and five T20Is.

The agenda was altered because of the approaching general elections in Punjab slated on April 30.

According to the amended itinerary, New Zealand will fly into Lahore and play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) from April 14–17 before moving on to Rawalpindi to play the remaining two T20Is and the first One-Day Internationals (ODI) from April 20–26.

The final four 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 allow Pakistan to prepare their side for the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, while the T20I will aid the PCB to continue with their reconstruction of the side for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be hosted in the USA and West Indies in June/July 2024.

The new schedule of the series is as follows:

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