Tag: New Zealand tour to Pakistan

  • New Zealand to tour Pakistan twice in 2022-23

    New Zealand to tour Pakistan twice in 2022-23

    After returning from Pakistan just before the first match due to ‘security concerns’, New Zealand is set to tour Pakistan twice next season, the two boards confirmed on Monday.

    The two teams will first face each other between December 2022 and January 2023 for two Tests, which will be part of the World Test Championship, and three ODIs, part of the World Cup Super League, before New Zealand return to Pakistan in April 2023 for five ODIs and five T20Is.

    The first visit will be a part of the Future Tours Programme, while the second was agreed to make up for the matches lost when New Zealand called off their limited-overs tour of Pakistan in September this year minutes before the scheduled start of the first ODI, citing security concerns. The limited-overs tour in April 2023 will have two additional ODIs being played, along with those scheduled in the 2021 series.

    “It’s good to be going back,” NZC chief executive David White said in a statement. “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.”

    After being especially critical of the NZC’s decision when they abandoned the tour this year, Ramiz said that the board was “pleased with the outcomes of our discussions and negotiations”. “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,” he said.

    Meanwhile, PCB also shared the list of International events Pakistan is going to host in future.

  • ‘Good relations’: Williamson hopes there are no grudges between Pak-NZ

    ‘Good relations’: Williamson hopes there are no grudges between Pak-NZ

    The captain of the New Zealand Cricket team, Kane Williamson, on Monday said that he hopes Pakistan cricket team will keep no grudges against New Zealand.

    Read More – ‘A real shame’: NZ captain displeased with his team’s decision

    Addressing a press conference in Sharjah, he said that Pakistan and New Zealand enjoy good relations and that the upcoming T20 World Cup match between two teams “will be played in right spirits”.

    Kane Williamson’s comments came in response to the question asked if he expects any acrimony or grudges following the last-minute pullout of the New Zealand cricket team from their Pakistan tour.

    Replying to the question, the NZ skipper said that the situation was very disappointing. “I know the team members were very much looking forward to the occasion and playing cricket in Pakistan, and it was ‘a real shame’ that it wasn’t able to go ahead,” he said on the eve of the match.

    “The focus now is here at the T20 World Cup and no doubt after last night’s performance, Pakistan have some momentum and are feeling pretty good about their cricket,” he said.

    “But there are also a lot of good relations within the two teams. Over the years, they have played a lot against each other, and several players have played with each other, as well. I am sure it will be played in the right spirit,” Williamson said.

    Williamson praised the spectacular performance of Pakistan against India. “It was a fantastic performance. I think Pakistan has come to the T20 World Cup full of confidence, having played in these conditions more than most.”

    “They certainly put it on the show last night and showed why they are one of the favorites in the competition,” he said shedding light on Pakistan’s performance against India.

    “Tomorrow, I am sure they’ll be very strong again, so, for us, it is focusing on the cricket that we want to play and trying to adjust to conditions,” he added.

    Pakistan is set to play New Zealand in their second match of Super 12s today (Tuesday).

  • ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has disclosed that 50 per cent of the board’s budget is based around the funds it gets from the International Cricket Council (ICC) whose “revenues are generated mainly from India”.

    Appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial affairs on Thursday in Islamabad, Ramiz said it was time for PCB to reduce its dependence on funding from the ICC and start tapping the local market.

    “ICC is a politicised body divided between the Asian and Western blocs and 90 per cent of its revenues are generated from India,” the PCB Chairman said.

    Ramiz said the ICC had become more of an event management company and PCB would have to make its voice heard if it does not want a repeat of the cancellation of confirmed series by New Zealand and England.

    What New Zealand did was unacceptable because till now they have not shared any information with us on what led them to abandon the series in Pakistan. But they are now trying to reschedule the series, he said.

    Ramiz hinted of some good news regarding the postponed New Zealand series in a week’s time.

    He indicated that the New Zealand cricket board was working on a new schedule to tour Pakistan.

    Read More – Ramiz Raja ‘erroneously’ tweets about ECB chairman’s resignation, deletes later

    Senator Raza Rabbani suggested that Pakistan should now not play against New Zealand and refuse any series but Ramiz pointed out that this would not be possible as Pakistan was part of the international cricket community.

    The good thing is that they are working on something, which means they want to amend things with us, he said.

    The New Zealand cricket team had arrived in Pakistan on September 11 for the first time in 18 years to play three ODIs and five Twenty20 Internationals but left on September 19 without playing any match after their government and security agencies advised them to return home citing “security concerns”.

    Ramiz, in a candid briefing to the senators, also made it clear that he would unveil his plans for Pakistan cricket and the board in a week or 10-days’ time while in four weeks’ time he would have his team ready.

    Read More – New Zealand cricket chief open to rescheduling of abandoned Pakistan series

    “To me, it is simple if the national team cannot do well and win matches, it means that everyone in the board from the tea man to the top official have failed in their duties,” he said.

  • PCB receive food bill of Rs 27 lakh for security hired for New Zealand team

    PCB receive food bill of Rs 27 lakh for security hired for New Zealand team

    New Zealand’s much-awaited tour of Pakistan was called off in an unfortunate manner. Although the Kiwi team landed in Pakistan for three ODIs and five T20Is, they were called back without playing a single match. The New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) cited security concerns behind the sudden cancellation of the tour.

    With the significance of this series being so high, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had made several preparations. However, they faced disappointment as the tour was called off. As per the latest development, PCB are set to endure huge financial losses due to the cancellation of the series. In fact, the cricket board is staring at a hefty amount just to pay the food bills of security officials hired for the Kiwi team.

    As per reports, the security agencies hired for the Blackcaps came at a huge cost. If that was not enough, PCB needs to spend around Rs 27 lakhs just to pay off the food bills of the officers who were in charge of security of the New Zealand team. If reports are to be believed, five SPs and over 500 SSPs (police officers) were deployed for the security of the Kiwis along with the Pakistan Army in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

    As per a report, each security personnel was served Biriyani twice a day, the cost of which came to approximately Rs 27 lakhs. Meanwhile, the tour was called off hours before the first ODI was to begin in Rawalpindi.

    “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,” NZC said in the statement calling off the tour.

    Meanwhile, both Pakistan and New Zealand are currently gearing up for the high-voltage T20 World Cup. While the Men in Green have clinched the 2009 edition of the competition, the trophy is still elusive for the Kiwis.

  • ‘A real shame’: NZ captain displeased with his team’s decision

    ‘A real shame’: NZ captain displeased with his team’s decision

    New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has expressed his displeasure with his team over the decision to pull out of its tour of Pakistan.

    “I don’t know the details of yesterday. It was a sudden call, but obviously, a real shame,” said the captain.

    The Kiwi captain said there is so much passion in Pakistan and that he dreaded that the “guys will be gutted” to not have started and played the whole series.

    I will find out a bit more about it over the next few days, Williamson said, admitting that he does not know full details of the incident.

    “Players’ safety is paramount and when you hear messages going through from the government, it is certainly above the players’ heads,” Williamson said.

    Williamson shared his empathy towards the Pakistani players his team was set to be pitted against on the pitch. “They were obviously over there, ready to go to the ground. It is a sudden thing that happened.”

    He said he certainly hoped there is no lasting impact from it because it is a special place for cricket to be and there have been a lot of strides forward to see cricket go back into Pakistan and play there safely.

    Meanwhile, Williamson was not part of the team that arrived in Pakistan for the series but he said he was aware of what happened and was concerned.