Ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup 2021, the New Zealand cricket team will square off against Bangladesh and Pakistan in a white-ball series between September 1 and October 3. While Pakistan will have their first-choice players for the series, NZ will be missing out on the services of 7 players who are in the WC squad.
The New Zealand Cricket has released its players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 and 7 players, including skipper Kane Williamson, will be in UAE to take part in the T20 league.
Upset with NZ players pulling out of the Pakistan series to play IPL, former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has lashed out at ICC and questioned its silence on the matter. As per Inzamam, the players are giving more importance to private leagues instead of international cricket.
“Wherever the Pakistan team is going, they are not getting a chance to play against the main players. When we went to South Africa in April, they sent their players for the IPL. With the upcoming NZ series in Pakistan, eight NZ players have opted out of the tour to play IPL. Even in the recent England tour, the whole England team got changed due to COVID-19 in the camp,” Inzamam said on his Youtube channel.
“I feel that the Pakistan team is not getting proper practice because they are not getting to play against the main players. What is the ICC doing? What message are they trying to give? Players are giving importance to private leagues and not international cricket. It’s like degrading international cricket. If you see the whole sequence, it’s happening only against Pakistan,” he added.
Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Tim Seifert are other players who have been released by NZC. Tom Latham will be leading NZ in both series. Interestingly, he isn’t part of the T20 World Cup squad.
