Pakistan to host New Zealand, South Africa for ODI tri-series

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said, on Friday, that they will host South Africa and New Zealand in a one-day international tri-series, the country's first tournament involving three nations after a gap of 20 years. The series was greenlit on the sidelines of an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai, according to PCB.

International cricket only fully returned to Pakistan in 2020, following attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009.

Pakistan was stripped of its right to co-host the World Cup two years later, with security concerns lingering in the aftermath of those attacks. The country last hosted a tri-series in 2004, which involved Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Newly elected PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said the tri-series will serve as a build-up to the eight-nation Champions Trophy, the first ICC event in the country since the 1996 World Cup.

"The tri-series between Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand will be an exciting event and it is after a long time that Pakistan will host such a tournament. The PCB is also looking forward to hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which will be a great pleasure for Pakistan to host the top eight ODI teams on its soil," Naqvi said in the PCB release.

The Pakistan Cricket Board also announced that New Zealand men’s cricket team will tour Pakistan from 14 April to play five T20Is. The Blackcaps will arrive in the capital city on 14 April and will play three T20Is at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on 18, 20 and 21 April. Following that, both sides will move to Lahore, where they will play the remaining two T20Is of the series on 25 and 27 April, respectively.