New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS): The New Zealand cricket team has reached Auckland on Wednesday after flying from Dubai and now will spend the next 14 days in mandatory COVID-19 hotel quarantine.

Last week, the limited-overs series against Pakistan was called off just minutes before the first game after New Zealand cricket received information of a "specific and credible" threat from their government.

According to information received here, 24 members of the 34-strong contingent have returned home while the rest will join New Zealand's T20 World Cup squad for the next month's tournament in the UAE and Oman.

"We managed to get to Dubai 24 hours after the decision was made," New Zealand's stand-in captain Tom Latham told the team's in-house media channel. "The guys dealt with it all slightly differently but we stayed tight as a group over there in those 24 hours we had in Islamabad."

Latham further thanked the Pakistani authorities for keeping the Kiwis safe. "While we were there after the decision, the Pakistan authorities were brilliant. We certainly need to thank them," added Latham.