New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has decided to send a security delegation to Pakistan ahead of their five-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series scheduled for April 2024. The delegation will include private security expert Reg Dickason and a senior official of the New Zealand Players Association (NZPA) Heath Mills.
The security delegation will arrive in Pakistan in early March and visit Lahore and Rawalpindi, where the matches are likely to be held. They will inspect the match venues and team hotels and also meet with government and security officials to ensure the safety and security of the visiting team.
The move comes after the Kiwi team had to abandon their white-ball tour of Pakistan in September 2021 due to a security threat.
However, NZC and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) agreed to resume their bilateral ties and arranged a return visit for the New Zealand team. The Kiwis played a Test and ODI series in Pakistan in the 2022-23 season, followed by another separate white-ball series. The upcoming T20I series is not part of the ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) and is a reciprocal gesture for the five T20Is that Pakistan played in New Zealand in January 2023.
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