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Inzamam-ul-Haq was enraged by New Zealand's players' choice to withdraw from the Pakistan series in order to compete in the IPL 2021. He slammed the ICC and questioned its silence on the issue.

The New Zealand cricket team will play Bangladesh and Pakistan in a white-ball series from September 1 to October 3 in preparation for the crucial T20 World Cup 2021. While Pakistan will have their first-choice players for the series, New Zealand will be without seven players who are part of the World Cup roster.

New Zealand Cricket has announced its players for the Indian Premier Competition (IPL) 2021, with seven of them, including skipper Kane Williamson, set to compete in the T20 league in the UAE.

Former captain Inzamam has blasted out at the ICC, questioning its silence on the topic, when NZ players pulled out of the Pakistan series to play in the IPL. According to Inzamam, players place a greater emphasis on private leagues than on international cricket.

“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. Even in the recent England tour, the whole England team got changed due to Covid-19 in the camp,” Inzamam said on his Youtube channel.

“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,” he added.

Other players released by NZC include Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, and Tim Seifert. In both series, NZ will be led by Tom Latham. He isn't on the T20 World Cup squad, which is surprising.