LAHORE: New Zealand will tour Pakistan after 19 years from December this year after abandoning a series here over security concerns last year. New Zealand will visit the country twice in the space of five months to play two Tests, eight ODIs and five T20Is. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) fumed after New Zealand abruptly withdrew from their first tour of the country in nearly two decades, minutes before start of the first one-day international in Rawalpindi in September last year. Yesterday’s announcement follows visits by Australia and England in recent months, part of Pakistan’s efforts to revive international cricket in the country after it was suspended following terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team in 2009. The two Tests are part of the ICC World Test Championship and will be played in Karachi (December 27-31) and Multan (January 4-8). The teams will return to Karachi to play three ODIs that are part of the ICC Super League on January 11, 13 and 15. New Zealand will come back to Pakistan in April and May to play five more ODIs, which are not part of the Super League, and five T20Is. The first four T20Is will be played in Karachi on April 13, 15, 16 and 19, before the teams travel to Lahore for the fifth T20I and the first two ODIs on April 23, 26 and 28. The last three ODIs of the series are in Rawalpindi on May 1, 4 and 7. New Zealand’s first visit is a part of the Future Tours Programme, while the second was agreed to make up for the matches lost when they called off their limited-overs tour of Pakistan minutes before the start of the first ODI in September 2021, citing security concerns. “New Zealand is one of the high-performing sides and will provide opportunities to our youngsters to continue to watch and follow their favourite players in action,” said PCB director of international cricket Zakir Khan. “The New Zealand matches will also provide opportunities to our youngsters to continue to watch and follow their favourite players in action, something they have missed when we were forced to play our international cricket offshore.” David White, New Zealand Cricket chief executive, said the recent tours from Australia and England had left them in no doubt regarding the quality of the Pakistan side across all formats and the extent of the challenge that awaited New Zealand. New Zealand tours of Pakistan: 27-31 Dec – 1st Test, Karachi 4-8 Jan – 2nd Test, Multan 11 Jan – 1st ODI, Karachi 13 Jan – 2nd ODI, Karachi 15 Jan – 3rd ODI, Karachi Second leg: 13 April – 1st T20I, Karachi 15 Apr – 2nd T20I, Karachi 16 Apr – 3rd T20I, Karachi 19 Apr – 4th T20I, Karachi 23 Apr – 5th T20I, Lahore 26 Apr – 1st ODI, Lahore 28 Apr – 2nd ODI, Lahore 1 May – 3rd ODI, Rawalpindi 4 May – 4th ODI, Rawalpindi 7 May – 5th ODI, Rawalpind.