A majority of New Zealand star players will miss the ODI and T20I series against Pakistan as they are currently not available and playing in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The Blackcaps will be playing a total of five ODI's and as many T20I matches, but they have travelled with a comparitively weaker squad for the shorter format.
Kane Williamson is the only star player who is sidelined due to injury which he sustained during fielding for his team Gujarat Titans (GT) against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 31 in their season opener. Meanwhile, there are some other match winners who are currently playing in the IPL in which the likes of Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, and Tim Southee, as well as batters Glenn Philipps and Devon Conway are included.
Tom Latham will be captaining the Kiwi side that features couple of new names in their squad. However, the former star all-rounder of Pakistan Abdul Razzaq is not at all happy with the star players of New Zealand for missing out on the series and have literally lambasted them. He is also surprised by the fact that how the players managed to get No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for the IPL from their cricket board.
“Firstly, New Zealand should've travelled with their strongest squad. Some went to IPL, some were unfit. There's no interest in the series. When we played Tests, it was their full-strength squad and we saw exciting games,” Razzaq said.
“They don't have strong players right now. It feels similar to the team we sent when we played against Afghanistan. Their terms and conditions are different, their players are busy in IPL. I don't know how these guys can get NOCs to play in leagues. The first priority is always the national team. It's very strange that they've travelled with a young team,” Razzaq concluded.
The first three T20I's will be played in Lahore and then both the squads travel to Rawalpindi for the remaining two matches. However, Babar Azam is all set to make his comeback in the Pakistan team as the hosts play with a full-strength squad.
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