New Zealand\u2019s cricket team returned to Pakistan on Thursday to play two Tests and three one-day internationals, a year after abandoning their tour over a security threat.<\/p>\n
The arrival of the Kiwis comes just days after England whitewashed Pakistan at home in a three-match Test series that has seen the hosts\u2019 cricket board chief sacked.<\/p>\n
New Zealand sparked deep frustration in Pakistan in September last year when they failed to show up at Rawalpindi Stadium and announced they were flying home.<\/p>\n
They rescheduled the visit after Australia\u2019s successful tour in March, which was followed by two visits by England.<\/p>\n
The current 15-man New Zealand squad is led by veteran fast bowler Tim Southee and they will begin the tour with the first Test in Karachi on Monday.<\/p>\n
The second Test is in Multan from Jan 3, followed by one-day internationals on Jan 10, 12 and 14 in Karachi.<\/p>\n
Pakistan announced a 16-man squad for the Test series on Wednesday, with a recall for fast bowler Hasan Ali.<\/p>\n
Spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi misses out with a knee injury.<\/p>\n
The Test series against New Zealand will provide Pakistan with a chance to improve on their performance after a humiliating defeat at the hands of England.<\/p>\n
New Zealand cut short a tour in 2002 when a bomb blast outside their Karachi hotel killed 14 people including French naval staff. They returned in 2003 but avoided the mega port city.<\/p>\n
Pakistan then became a no-go destination for international cricket in 2009 when the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked, forcing Pakistan to play home games at neutral venues, mostly in the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
But international cricket has gradually returned since 2015 following major security improvements and this year has been a big home season with visits by Australia, England and New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Zealand\u2019s cricket team returned to Pakistan on Thursday to play two Tests and three one-day internationals, a year after abandoning their tour over a security threat. The arrival of the Kiwis comes just days after England whitewashed Pakistan at home in a three-match Test series that has seen the hosts\u2019 cricket board chief sacked. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-302788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n