Gary Stead speaks about the tour to Pakistan

Despite the harsh words by PCB chief Ramiz Raja, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that the decision to postpone the trip of Pakistan was "out of our hands" and urged his players to treat their impending T20 World Cup opener against the Asian nation like any other match. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) recently canceled its men's team's trip to Pakistan just before the first one-day international due to a security threat, leaving the host nation dissatisfied and upset.

The players are now in Dubai, one of the World Cup venues, which will be held in the UAE and Oman. He added the five players who were supposed to play in a five-match T20 series in Pakistan have started practicing in the UAE with batting coach Thilan Samaraweera, where nine other members of the squad are playing in the Indian Premier League, including traveling reserve Adam Milne.