New Zealand cricket team arrive in Pakistan
By our correspondent
LAHORE: New Zealand cricket team early today arrived here to play a full-fledged series of white-ball cricket including five T20Is and the same number of one-day internationals.
The series begins here at the Gaddafi Stadium on April 14 with the first T20I.
Tom Latham leads the touring party which misses some of its top players due to their engagement in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The tourists will take a couple of days rest following their two-day marathon journey and will hold their first practice session on April 13.
New Zealand’s all-rounder Daryl Mitchell said that they are very excited about the T20 and ODI series in Pakistan.
“There are young players in the team who have not played in these conditions before,” he said.
He said that the conditions in Pakistan are challenging, adding Pakistan is a world-class team.
“Conditions are quite different here from New Zealand and young players will gain experience,” he said. “The series is quite long. We will try to play good cricket,” he said.
New Zealand squad: T20I: Tom Latham (c), Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Will Young, Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver, Ben Lister, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Henry Shipley, Blair Tickner
ODI: Tom Latham (c), Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Will Young, Chad Bowes, Ben Lister, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Henry Shipley, Blair Tickner
Pakistan squads
T20I: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Zaman Khan
ODI: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir. Reserves: Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Tayyab Tahir
Series schedule (T20Is to start at 9pm; ODIs to begin at 3.30pm):
14 Apr – 1st T20I, Lahore
15 Apr – 2nd T20I, Lahore
17 Apr – 3rd T20I, Lahore
20 Apr – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
24 Apr – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
27 Apr – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
29 Apr – 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi
3 May – 3rd ODI, Karachi
5 May – 4th ODI, Karachi
7 May – 5th ODI, Karachi