NZ vs PAK: Pakistan T20I Squad For New Zealand Series Announced, Shadab Khan Misses Out

Pakistan Men’s chief selector Wahab Riaz has announced the squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The 17-member squad will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi who will be leading the national team for the first time. The first T20I will be played in Auckland on January 12. The training camp for the series will commence on December 25 at the National Cricket Academy of Pakistan in Lahore.

Pakistan is currently facing Australia in a three-match Test series where they suffered a huge defeat in the first Test losing the game by a massive 360 runs. Pakistan’s T20I squad for the series against New Zealand features four debutants who have received their maiden call-up in T20Is for Pakistan. Haseebullah Khan, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, and Usama Mir are the players who are expected to debut in the series.

It has also been reported earlier that Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam are only included in the squad because of the support they had from Mohammad Hafeez. Rizwan will not be the first-choice keeper for Pakistan in the T20I series against the Kiwis. Azam Khan is likely to replace Rizwan in the playing XI. Babar Azam is also expected to miss the initial matches.

Shaheen Shah Afridi will be leading the side for the first time and he has proven himself as a leader in the Pakistan Super League. Afridi led Lahore Qalandars to the PSL title in the 2023 season and has been brilliant as a leader. Even after being known for his bowling, he scored a quickfire 44 off just 15 balls in the PSL final and took four wickets with the ball.

Pakistan Drops Shadab Khan For The T20I Series Against New Zealand

Shadab Khan will miss out on the T20I series against New Zealand as there are some issues with his form as well as his fitness. Shadab Khan had a terrible ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 where he managed to take only two wickets and was also silent with the bat. Shadab was the vice-captain of the team in the World Cup and he could not perform to his expectations which led to his dropping.

Pakistan is currently in Australia for the three-match Test series where they are behind 0-1 against Australia. They will face the Aussies in Melbourne for the second Test of the series starting from December 26 (Boxing Day Test). The two teams will then move to Sydney where they will play the third and final test of the series after the New Year celebrations.

The T20I series against New Zealand will commence on January 12 in Auckland. After that Pakistan will face New Zealand in Hamilton for the second T20I. The third T20I will be played in Dunedin whereas the last two T20Is will be hosted by Christchurch.

Pakistan Squad For The Five-Match T20I Series Against New Zealand: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan