Pakistan T20 squad for New Zealand series announced; probables to takes part in Army Training Camp from March 26

In a recent development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 29-member list of players who are all set to participate in the upcoming National camp from tomorrow. The camp will take place at an Army base in Kakul, which is 5 kilometers North of the Abbottabad district.

This camp will help the board and chief selectors to determine the Green Army’s squad for their upcoming home T20I series against New Zealand, which is scheduled for next month.

The National camp is most likely to take place at the Pakistan Military Academy where some of the biggest names in the country’s cricketing system are expected to turn up. From youngsters who shined in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League season 9 to some of the retired veterans who proved to be a revelation this season. All of them will be tried and tested at the Kakul camp but without a head coach in place.

PCB was looking at options like Shane Watson and Darren Sammy to take over as Pakistan’s white ball head coach but both of them were denied eventually.

Why did Shane Watson and Darren Sammy deny taking over as Pakistan’s head coach?

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson was the first person that the PCB approached to take over the vacant head coaching role. Discussions were at advanced stages with the board agreeing on all of Watson’s demands including his ask for 4.3 Crore Pakistani rupees, which could have made him the highest-ever paid coach of the Asian giants.

However, talks with Watson suddenly collapsed as the Australian was firstly unhappy with the internal information getting leaked, especially about the salary. Another reason for his U-turn was because of his commentary commitments over here in IPL as well as his head coaching role with San Francisco Unicorns in the upcoming Major League Cricket edition.

Then it was Darren Sammy who rejected the offer, solely because of his role as white ball head coach with the West Indies national team. Both Watson and Sammy were good options as they were coaching PSL 9 sides – Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi respectively.

They must have built a strong bond with some of the Pakistan players and that could have helped them tune in to the team as well. Nonetheless, PCB is continuing its search for a new coach and whether an appointment will be made before the T20 World Cup 2024, remains unknown.

All 29 players for the upcoming National camps in Kakul

Pakistan T20 squad for New Zealand (Probales): Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Haseebullah, Saud Shakeel, Usman Khan, Mohammad Haris, Salman Ali Agha, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Irfan Khan Niazi, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mehran Mumtaz, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Ali, Zaman Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Aamir Jamal, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Amir.

The Kakul National camp begins tomorrow and it will run until April 8 before the end of Ramadan. Pakistan are slated to play their 1st of a 5-match T20I series against New Zealand on the 18th of April. The following matches will take place on 20, 21, 25, and 27 of the same month.