Due to schedule conflicts, Pakistan’s planned T20I tour to the Netherlands in May of next year has been postponed. The PCB requested that the series be postponed in order to reduce the stress of the Pakistan team with an increasingly crowded calendar, and the two boards are understood to be looking into rescheduling options.
The Men In Green has stated a desire to return to the Netherlands after their CWC Super League series in Rotterdam in 2022, with a three-match T20I series slated for early May, ahead of Pakistan’s planned tour to Ireland and England. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) attempted to reschedule the series after Pakistan’s home series against New Zealand in April leaving only a narrow window for Pakistan’s trip to the Netherlands.
“We’re obviously disappointed but of course, we understand the situation, and remain optimistic a new window will be found to play the series either at home or away,” KNCB High-Performance Manager Roland Lefebvre told Cricbuzz.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam stepped down from the leadership position following the team’s poor show in the ODI World Cup 2023. Following Babar Azam’s resignation from his positions in all three forms, Pakistan has appointed Shaheen Afridi as its new T20I captain and Shan Masood as the Test Skipper.
The Men in Green have failed to qualify for the semifinals of the ODI World Cup despite walking in as one of the favourites to win the title in India. This has led to criticism aimed at captain Babar Azam and the chief selector over their choice of players for the marquee event in India, as Pakistan Cricket went through some structural changes after the completion of the marquee event.
The Men in Green have made significant changes to the setup following their dismissal performance in the tournament, with former cricketers such as Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz being appointed as Director of Cricket and Chief Selector respectively. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal have also joined their coaching team ahead of the crucial Test series against Australia.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has performed exceptionally well in the shorter format of the game in recent times qualifying for the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup and the semifinals of the 2021 T20 World Cup showing some remarkable consistency in the shorter format of the game and would be keen to develop the side going next edition of the marquee event in 2024.
Before the T20 World Cup in June in the West Indies and the USA, Pakistan will play 19 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) following the Australian Test tour.
