The New Zealand Cricket Board has announced the schedule for the 2024/25 home season. The Black Caps will face Pakistan in a bilateral series consisting of a five-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series in March-April, which may overlap with the Indian Premier League 2025 season.
Earlier this year, during IPL 2024, New Zealand toured Pakistan for a five-match T20I series, but their first-team players who were on IPL contracts opted to play for their franchises, meaning New Zealand fielded their second team in Pakistan.
Additionally, New Zealand will play a three-match Test series against England in November-December as part of the World Test Championship Cycle (WTC), while Sri Lanka will tour the white-ball series consisting of a three-match T20I series and an ODI series.
Tom Latham on the deal
Star players such as Kane Williamson and Lockie Ferguson rejected central contract offers from New Zealand earlier this year in order to have the flexibility to play franchise cricket around the world. “Pursuing overseas opportunities during the New Zealand summer means I cannot accept a central contract offer,” Williamson explained.
“I think the direction of New Zealand cricket is changing a bit at the moment. It’s not black and white by any means but it’s certainly changing with more leagues coming up and I think everyone has a slightly different vision for their future depending on their age and stage of life,” New Zealand player Tom Latham told ESPNcricinfo.
“There’s a lot of cricket going on in the summer and the ICC’s premier event (Champions Trophy) coming up so I’m really looking forward to it. So I think it’ll be great whenever we come, whether it’s a different line-up or the usual line-up, but I think it’s going to be fluid in the future,” he added.
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First uploaded: 18 July 2024 14:05 IST
