The New Zealand cricket team arrived in Islamabad in the early hours of Sunday morning ahead of their T20I series against Pakistan set to commence on April 18.
The hosts, led by Michael Bracewell, will go up against the Men in Green in a five-match series of which three will be played in Rawalpindi, while the rest of the two games will be played in Lahore with the series culminating on April 27.
A day earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the match officials for the forthcoming series. The panel led by Andy Pycroft, a member of the Emirates International Cricket Council (ICC) elite panel of match referees, includes Aleem Dar, Asif Yaqoob, Faisal Afridi and Rashid Riaz.
On April 9, the board announced the much-awaited Babar-Azam-led 17-member squad for the T20I series with pacer Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Imad Wasim making a comeback into the national side
The series will also likely see Usman Khan and Muhammad Irfan Khan making their debut for the Green Shirts owing to their impressive performances in the recently concluded ninth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 9).
Match fixtures
18 April – 1st T20I, Rawalpindi
20 April – 2nd T20I, Rawalpindi
21 April – 3rd T20I, Rawalpindi
25 April – 4th T20I, Lahore
27 April – 5th T20I, Lahore
Squads for T20 2024
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan, Usama Mir.
New Zealand: Michael Bracewell (c), Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Zack Fowlkes, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
