But if Pakistan's cricket board are planning to switch New Zealand to Malaysia, then it's news to New Zealand Cricket.
"We've had no communication from then on that, so you know as much as me," NZC chief executive David White said today.
"I don't think there's any point in speculating until they do come to us."
Malaysia has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1967, and is hardly a hotbed of top cricket. It did host a tournament at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, which wasn't a raging success.
But the squash of programmes in the UAE — which uses Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah as international host locations — means something has to give, hence the Malaysia issue being floated.
"I am going to Malaysia to explore the prospects for at least shifting our Australia and New Zealand series if they insist on denying the Sharjah facility to us during the Afghan League," Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi said.
"Nothing is certain right now. I am going to look at all the options and try and persuade them to shift their dates if possible, so that there is no conflict."
New Zealand are also planning to send an A team to the UAE, likely starting shortly before the full tour, mimicking the arrangements in India late in 2016.
"We will have regular A tours as part of the future. It's a big part of our planning going forward," White said.
The expectation is two A tours each calendar year, one home and one away.
"There will be promising players, but there might be the odd fringe Black Cap," White added.