September 15, 2021
New Zealand will play a limited-overs series against Pakistan for the first time in 18 years. After securing their clearance for the said tour in Rawalpindi, fans are more ecstatic than ever to watch the Kiwis play in Asia once more.
Currently, the New Zealand team is touring Bangladesh for a five-match T20I series. After that, they will travel to Pakistan to prepare for the upcoming matches. Since the tour is set to start on September 17, the Kiwis are expected to arrive in Islamabad on September 11 to prepare for the matches.
With the tour's approval, many cricket fans look forward to the odds from their favourite online sportsbooks and root for their teams. Fans may also place some bets for esports events or some online casino games of their choice.
Looking at the odds on various sportsbooks will give fans an idea about how much can be in store for them when they win their bets. This makes fans more excited to see what will take place once the actual matches begin.
Match schedule
There are eight matches in total for the tour: three One Day Internationals (ODI) and five Twenty20 Internationals (T20I). This has also been confirmed by both cricket boards who are in charge of the game schedule. Another confirmation came from New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA) Chief Executive Heath Mills who said that the pre-tour check has been completed and that the tour will take place as planned.
The first three ODIs will take place on September 17, 19, and 21 at the Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium. Meanwhile, the five T20Is will be held from September 25 to October 3 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The tour’s security clearance
The director of the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) also said that they are confident with the security team and the various arrangements that are in place for the tour.
This is because NZC has chosen to engage with ESI, a group of security experts, to protect the teams and the staff to ensure safety during the matches. So far, the security team has arrived last week and had already inspected the facilities.
As stated by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), ‘During their visit, they have also met with all the relevant security personnel and discussed security and medical arrangements (bio-secure), following which they submitted their report to the NZC’.
‘Reg (Dickason) will stay with the NZ team until the end of their tour, while David (Sears) will stay until the conclusion of England women's tour of Rawalpindi’, they added. Dickason and Sears are also security consultants to Cricket Australia (CA), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and FICA.
Audience participation
Audiences are now allowed to watch New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan inside the stadiums. Only those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed access inside. Still, the stadiums will not maximize their full capacity as only 25% crowd attendance will be allowed. Therefore, there can only be around 4,500 to 5,000 spectators who can watch the games.
These are just some of the updates about the upcoming New Zealand tour of Pakistan. Find an ideal site where you can place some bets for upcoming cricket matches, esports events, as well as online casino games. That way, you can be more excited to see what happens in these matches!