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Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Rizwan & Other Pakistan Players Reach Auckland For NZ T20Is

image-lr4inoh1Pakistan face off against New Zealand (Twitter)

International cricket keeps coming back thick and fast for Pakistan as they stepped shores in New Zealand on Monday (January 8) for the five-match T20I series after finishing a strenuous three-Test series in Australia on Saturday.

Even as the Asian giants completed another difficult and unsuccessful Test tour to Australia only two days ago, they travelled to Auckland for the next assignment, starting January 12, as the focus now shifts to the build-up towards the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. 

Pakistan players reached the Auckland airport early in the morning for the first of the five T20Is versus the BlackCaps before the two teams travel to Hamilton (January 14), Dunedin (January 17), and Christchurch (January 19 and 21) for the following games.

Pakistan Reach New Zealand For T20I Series

The series kickstarts Pakistan's prolonged build-up phase towards the biannual ICC event scheduled in June in the Caribbean and the USA and will be the first under the leadership of new skipper and pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi. 


There were speculations that former skipper and out-of-form batting stalwart Babar Azam could be rested for the Kiwi Challenge to refresh his game. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) completely thwarted the idea, with Babar being one of the players who was clicked at the airport.

Apart from taking on New Zealand, Pakistan players will be indulging in another edition of their premier domestic T20 competition - the Pakistan Super League (PSL) - before playing series in Ireland and England ahead of the T20 World Cup.

At the marquee competition, which Pakistan won back in 2009 in the United Kingdom, the Asian giants are placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals India, Ireland, and co-hosts USA and Canada. Pakistan begin their campaign against the USA on June 6 before taking on India on June 9, Canada on June 11, and then Ireland on June 16.