New Zealand to tour Bangladesh for a five-match T20I series in September
Bangladesh will host New Zealand in a five-match T20I series in September. The series, slated to be held at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka, will be contested from September 1 to 10.
The hosts are currently embroiled in a series against Australia, where they have secured a 1-0 win with a famous victory against the mighty Aussies. New Zealand are yet to compete in an international fixture since their World Test Championship win. The Kiwis will begin their preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup with a limited over series against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh were expected to host England as well for a brief limited-overs series but the tour was postponed to 2023 after both boards came to an agreement to delay the matches.
Senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal, who are presently absent from the team due to quarantine rules and injury respectively, are expected to be part of the squad against New Zealand.
New Zealand players will compete in the series and then make their way to the UAE for the second leg of the IPL. The cricket board had already confirmed the availability of their players for the tournament.
“New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, James Neesham, and Lockie Ferguson will feature in the second phase of the IPL 2021 in the UAE,” White had stated as quoted by the GEO Tv.
The Blackcaps will also compete in a limited-overs series against Pakistan away from home in the September-October window. However, the tour will only go forward if New Zealand are satisfied with the security measures set in place.
Meanwhile Pakistan has requested two more T20s in lieu of the upcoming T20 World Cup, but with the dates set to clash with the IPL, the teams are only likely to play the originally scheduled 3 T20s and 3ODIs
Bangladesh had toured New Zealand earlier this year
New Zealand hosted Bangladesh in a limited-overs tour in March 2021. The hosts emerged as runaway winners after completing whitewashes in both formats.
Bangladesh are yet to defeat New Zealand in a T20 match. The 2016 T20 World Cup semi-finalists have been victorious in all ten of their previous meetings before.