'Friendship back on track' as New Zealand set to tour Pakistan twice in 2022-23

The New Zealand cricket board confirmed on Monday that its senior men's squad will visit Pakistan twice in 2022-23 to make up for the bilateral series that was abruptly called off in September due to security concerns. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced that the Blackcaps will play a two-match Test series and three one-day internationals in Pakistan in December 2022-January 2023, before returning in April 2023 for another white-ball series of five ODIs and as many T20Is. 

"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. It’s good to be going back," NZC chief executive David White said in a statement after the tour was confirmed. 

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Rameez Raja also welcomed the latest development saying the outcome of the meetings that took place in Dubai reflects the cordial relations between the two boards and also reconfirms Pakistan’s status as an important member of the cricket fraternity.

Background

The decision to host the bilateral series came following a series of meetings between NZC executives and their Pakistani counterparts in Dubai last month. The meetings were held after New Zealand canceled its tour of Pakistan and declined to field a team despite having a men's squad present in the country at the time. The decision to call off the series was made just minutes before the toss in the first one-day international, which was scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had cited security as a reason for cancelling the tour as it was set to take place barely a month after the Taliban administration was resurrected in Afghanistan, which is directly across the border from Pakistan. England followed New Zealand Cricket's decision and cancelled its own short bilateral series against Pakistan just before the T20 World Cup. 

The decision was massively criticised as former cricketers turned to social media to slam the Kiwis and the British for cancelling their respective tours. Several ex-players including the likes of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, and Waqar Younis slammed NZC for cancelling the series and all urged current Pakistan players to take revenge in the T20I World Cup. 

Image: AP