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Pakistan’s quest to reach the ICC World Test Championship final will go up a gear when the Asia side host New Zealand for a two-match Test series at the end of the year.
The Kiwis will be the third team to tour Pakistan in 2022 when they travel to South Asia in December, following successful series earlier this year against Australia and England.
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Monday that the first Test against New Zealand will start on December 27 in Karachi, with the second and final Test in Multan from January 4.
Pakistan currently sit in fifth place on the World Test Championship standings and will likely need to win the majority of their remaining five Test matches this period if they are to feature in next year’s final.
Babar Azam’s side host England for three Tests at the start of December, before they take on Kane Williamson’s team in a pair of Test matches over the New Year.
New Zealand will also play three ODI in Pakistan in mid-January and return to the country in April for a total of 10 white-ball fixtures across a four-week period that are included to make-up for the abandoned tour from September last year.
PCB Director of International Cricket Zakir Khan is already looking forward to New Zealand’s return to the country.
“New Zealand is one of the high-performing sides and the more we will play against the top teams in our backyard, the better we will get as a unit, which is crucial to our objective of featuring inside the top-three across all formats,” he said.
“The New Zealand matches will also provide opportunities to our youngsters to continue to watch and follow their favourite players in action, something they have missed when we were forced to play our international cricket offshore.”
And it’s no surprise that the valuable World Test Championship points are high on the agenda for Pakistan and Zakir.
“Three Tests against England followed by two Tests versus New Zealand over six weeks will give us a chance to strengthen our claims for a place in the ICC World Test Championship final,” he said.
“The eight ODIs will help us to prepare for September’s Asia Cup and October’s 50-over ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
“As such, the series against New Zealand will not only be from the top drawer but will also have context, making it something to watch out for.”
Schedule:
First Test: 27-31 Dec – Karachi
Second Test: 4-8 Jan – Multan
First ODI: 11 Jan – Karachi
Second ODI: 13 Jan – Karachi
Third ODI: 15 Jan – Karachi
First T20I: 13 Apr – Karachi
Second T20I: 15 Apr – Karachi
Third T20I: 16 Apr – Karachi
Fourth T20I: 19 Apr – Karachi
Fifth T20I: 23 Apr – Lahore
First ODI: 26 Apr – Lahore
Second ODI:28 Apr – Lahore
Third ODI: 1 May – Rawalpindi
Fourth ODI: 4 May – Rawalpindi
Fifth ODI: 7 May – Rawalpindi
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