Babar Azam-led Pak squad depart for New Zealand tour

The Pakistan cricket team departed in the early hours of Monday for their month-long tour of New Zealand.

The Pakistan cricket team departed in the early hours of Monday for their month-long tour of New Zealand. Upon reaching, the squad led by Pakistan's all-format captain Babar Azam will be under a mandatory 14-day quarantine period as per COVID-19 protocol.

Ahead of their departure, the skipper shared a picture on Twitter and captioned it as: "Next stop, New Zealand." Pakistan will play three T20Is on December 18, 20, and 22, and the ICC World Test Championship fixtures will be held in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch on December 26-30 and January 3-7, respectively.

On Sunday, Batsman Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the tour to New Zealand as the player is suffering from fever, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had confirmed. PCB said that the decision to withdraw Fakhar from the tour was made keeping the health of the rest of the squad members as a "top priority". The statement read that Fakhar was isolated in the team hotel in Lahore as soon as his condition was detected, adding that the PCB medical panel is in touch with the player. (ANI)