Bangladesh's tour of New Zealand pushed back by a week

Bangladesh's ODIs and T20s in New Zealand, which were scheduled to begin on March 13, will now begin on March 20. A New Zealand Cricket statement said the changes in the schedule was "caused by ongoing challenges in the current Covid-19 environment and the need to allow visiting sides adequate preparation for international commitments".

The venues remain the same, only the dates have changed for the upcoming tour.

The three ODIs were originally scheduled to be played on March 13, 17 and 20, and will now be on March 20, 23 and 26, in Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington respectively.

The three T20Is - originally on March 23, 26 and 28 - will now take place on March 28, 30 and April 1 in Hamilton, Napier and Auckland respectively.

The statement also said "with Bangladesh remaining in New Zealand longer than originally scheduled, NZC has taken the opportunity to play the three WHITE FERNS v Australia women's T20s as double-headers alongside the BLACKCAPS v Bangladesh T20s - at Seddon Park, McLean Park and Eden Park, respectively."

New Zealand has been one of the most successful countries in controlling Covid-19 numbers. The latest numbers on February 4 listed six new cases in the country as per official government figures. In Bangladesh, on February 3, the number of new cases reportedly stood at 438.

This will be Bangladesh's first visit to the country since the Christchurch terror attack in March 2019, when the team narrowly escaped the gunman who targeted two mosques in the city killing over 50 people.

Revised schedule:

March 20, 1st ODI, Dunedin

March 23, 2nd ODI, Christchurch

March 26, 3rd ODI, Wellington

March 28, 1st T20I, Hamilton

March 30, 2nd T20I, Napier

April 1, 3rd T20I, Auckland