National cricket team leaves for New Zealand tour

The national cricket tour left for New Zealand after left-arm opener Fakhar Zaman pulled out of the tour a few hours ago due to fever.

The national squad has left for Dubai New Zealand on a foreign airline flight from Lahore and the squad will undergo a 14-day quarantine at Lincoln University in New Zealand.

The 54-member squad to leave for New Zealand includes 34 players and 20 officials from the Pakistan team and Pakistan Shaheens.

After arriving in New Zealand, the squad will be completely alone for the first 3 days. After the first Covid-19 testing, the players will be divided into groups and will continue with other activities including training in the groups.

There will be three Covid-19 tests during the quarantine while after 14 days the squad will be free to move around.

Opener Fakhar Zaman pulled out of the New Zealand tour after suffering from fever a few hours before departure.

3 T20 and 2 Test matches will be played between Pakistan and New Zealand. The first T20 match will be played in Auckland on December 18 and the second in Hamilton on December 20, while the third O match of the series will be played in Napier on December 22.

The first match of the Test series will start from December 26 in Mount Maungnai while the second Test match will be played in Christchurch from January 3.

Pakistan Shaheens team will play 2 four-day and 4 T20Is during the tour. The first 4-day match between Pakistan Shaheens and New Zealand A will start from December 10, while the second 4-day match will be played from December 17 to 20 at Wahangari.