Pakistan, Kiwis, Bangladesh to clash before T20 World Cup

A tri-series featuring Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand will begin on October 7 as the teams gear up for the T20 World Cup that begins on October 16.

The T20I series will be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, with a total of seven games.

Each team will play the other side twice in the league stages, from where the top two will qualify for the final.

The final will be played on October 14.

The tournament will begin with Pakistan and Bangladesh taking on each other in the opener.

New Zealand will begin their campaign the next day, on October 8, when they face Pakistan.

Pakistan, who recently lost the seven-match T20I series against England 4-3, have named Shaheen Afridi, who is recovering from a knee injury for the tri-series.

He missed the Asia Cup this year and the England T20Is, and his availability is subject to fitness.

The Black Caps have named the same squad as the World Cup for the tri-series, as have Bangladesh.

Incidentally, Pakistan and Bangladesh are in the same group for the World Cup.

New Zealand is placed in another group with the likes of Afghanistan and England.

New Zealand-Pakistan-Bangladesh Tri-Series Schedule

• 1st T20I: Bangladesh vs Pakistan, October 7
• 2nd T20I: New Zealand vs Pakistan, October 8
• 3rd T20I: New Zealand vs Bangladesh, October 9
• 4th T20I: New Zealand vs Pakistan, October 11
• 5th T20I: New Zealand vs Bangladesh, October 12
• 6th T20I: Bangladesh vs Pakistan, October 13
• Final on October 14

NZ, BAN & PAK squads for the T20I tri-series

Pakistan

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Shaheen Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shan Masood, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim

Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan (c), Nurul Hasan (vc, wk), Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Yasir Ali, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan, Afif Hossain, Ebadot Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Najmul Hossain Shanto

New Zealand

Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee