Inzamam-ul-Haq Upset With Key New Zealand Players Opting Out Of Pakistan Tour For IPL 2021

Former Pakistani cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq is quite upset after some New Zealand players opted out of the upcoming white-ball series against Pakistan to participate in IPL 2021.

New Zealand is set to tour Pakistan in September-October for a three-match ODI and five-match T20I series. The ODI series will be played from September 17 to September 21 while the T20I series is scheduled to take place from September 25 to October 3.

The series will take place just ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, slated to be kickstart on October 17, 2021, in UAE. However, 7 key Kiwi players who are part of the T20I World Cup 2021 squad will not be part of the Pakistan series.

Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, and Tim Seifert have been granted permission by the New Zealand cricket board to execute their IPL 2021 duties, which will be played from September 19 to October 15 in UAE.

Pakistan Not Getting Chance To Play Against Main Players Wherever They Go: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Former Pakistani skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has been irked over Kiwi players pulling out of the Pakistan tour. On his Youtube channel, he pointed out that the Pakistan team is not getting a chance to play against the main players in every series.

“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-ul-Haq said.

The former right-handed batsman also asserted that players giving importance to private leagues against international cricket is like degrading international cricket.

“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,” Inzamam-ul-Haq further added.

 

With the absence of regular skipper Kane Williamson, Tom Latham will lead the New Zealand squad against Pakistan. He will also lead the team in the Bangladesh tour, slated to happen ahead of the Pakistan tour from September 1 to 10. Notably, Latham is not part of the ICC T20 World Cup squad of New Zealand.

The UAE leg of IPL 2021 will be conducted from September 19 to October 15. It will be followed by ICC T20 World Cup 2021, which will commence on October 17 with the qualifiers stage. The tournament will conclude with the final on November 14, 2021.