As doubts began prevailing over Pakistan’s capability of hosting the New Zealand cricket team due to the crisis in Afghanistan, President of Pakistan Cricket board Ehsan Mani assured that the country is safe and can host the white ball bilateral series. Although the series confirmation is subject to security clearance, concerns were raised after the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.
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Cricket in Pakistan has suffered immensely since the 9/11 attack in the U.S followed by the invasion of Afghanistan. Teams kept on refusing to tour Pakistan due to constant security threats as international cricket came to a halt after the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.
The Blackcaps are supposed to land in Pakistan on September 11. The series consists of three ODIs and five T20Is in Rawalpindi and Lahore to be played between September 17 to October 3. This will be New Zealand’s first tour of Pakistan after nineteen years. England will also be touring Pakistan in October for the first time after 2005.