At Christchurch’s scenic Port Hills, the trophy for the Pakistan-New Zealand Twenty20 International series was formally unveiled on Thursday. The five-match series began with an unveiling ceremony that included veteran spinner Ish Sodhi of New Zealand and top-order batsman Mohammad Haris of Pakistan.
The 16-man Pakistani team, captained by Agha Salman, has already landed in New Zealand. The players will rest for a day before starting training on Friday at 1 pm local time.
The team consists of seasoned fighters like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Haris Rauf in addition to a number of up-and-coming players including Abdul Samad and Hassan Nawaz.
The first Twenty20 International in Christchurch on March 16 kicks off the white-ball trip, and the second match in Dunedin on March 18. After that, on March 21, the action will shift to Auckland, and on March 23 and 26, respectively, Mount Maunganui and Wellington will host the final two Twenty20 Internationals.
Pakistan and New Zealand will play a three-match ODI series after the T20I series concludes, with the opening ODI taking place in Napier on March 29. On April 2, Hamilton will host the second match, while on April 5, Mount Maunganui will host the final ODI to wrap up the series.
