Ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup 2021, the New Zealand cricket team will square off against Bangladesh and Pakistan in a white-ball series between September 1 and October 3.

While Pakistan will have their first-choice squad on the field, New Zealand will be missing out on the services of 7 players. According to a New Zealand cricket, these 7 players including skipper Kane Williamson have been released for the upcoming second-leg of IPL 2021 in UAE.

The former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq who was not happy with the Kiwis pulling out of the Pakistan tour owing to IPL and lashed out at ICC questioned its silence on the matter at hand.

“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,” Inzamam said in his latest YouTube video.

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“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,” the right-hand batsman added.

Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, and Tim Seifert are a part of New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in UAE, have been released by NZC.

As far as IPL 2021 is concerned, the second-leg of the tournament is slated to begin from September 19 with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI).