New Zealand to consider playing in Pakistan later this year

The cricket fans in Pakistan could pretty well be in for some more delighting news later this year. While the Men in Green are currently in England for a Test assignment, they are in line to get some good news from down south from New Zealand. Reportedly, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is considering the option of playing in Pakistan later this year.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had recently hinted that major Test playing nations will tour the country in the near future. They have been trying hard to restore the sport on the Pakistani soil. In their recent attempt, they successfully hosted the Windies side in a short T20I series. Prior to that, they had also hosted Sri Lanka in Lahore for a T20I match.

Last year, the World XI team had played 3 T20Is on the Pakistani soil as well. While cricket of international sorts returned to the Pakistani soil, the big question remained – when will the top sides tour the country. As per the recent reports in News18, the officials of NZC have confirmed that they have received a request from PCB to play in Pakistan.

“NZC has received a request from the PCB chairman for New Zealand to play in Pakistan. At the moment NZC is doing due diligence on the request and consulting with security providers, the government, and the players,” an NZC spokesman quoted. “We will respond to the PCB when this process has been completed,” he added further.

New Zealand set to play Pakistan

As per the current scheduled, the Kiwis are anyway lined up to play against the Pakistani side later this year. As per the current schedules, the two teams will face off in UAE. It is worth noting that the Black Caps had abandoned their last test tour of Pakistan in 2002 after a bomb exploded outside their Karachi hotel but returned to play an ODI series in 2003. Reportedly, PCB has also made a request to Cricket Australia (CA) to play in Pakistan.

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