The roster for the forthcoming T20 series against New Zealand, which is slated to take place in January of next year, revealed on Tuesday by PCB appointed Chief Selector Wahab Riaz.
PCB Announced 17-Memeber Squad For Upcoming New Zealand T20 Series
After succeeding Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Afridi will take charge of the T20I team for the first time.
Young players Abbas Afridi, Saim Ayub, Haseebullah Khan, and Sahibzada Farhan are also part of the 17-man roster.
The team also has Azam Khan, in addition to players like Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Muhammad Rizwan.
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— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 19, 2023
The three-match Test series between Pakistan and Australia is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023–25 cycle, which will end on January 7.
Shaheen, regarded as one of the best bowlers in the world, particularly with the new ball, will face New Zealand in his maiden captain’s role.
Wahab Riaz About Inclusion of Haseebullah
While speaking during the press conference, Wahab Riaz said, “Haseebullah played some impactful innings in the PSL in the middle-order and has performed a lot in white-ball cricket.
He opens in domestic cricket but for team adjustment, we need to develop players for numbers 4-7.”
“Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Faheem Ashraf were given chances but they couldn’t create that type of impact, so now we’re in a building phase to see which players can fit into these positions.”
He also revealed Shadab Khan’s ailment and the removal of occasional wicketkeeper Mohammed Haris.
“We have rested Mohammad Haris for this series. We know his capability and he is part of our plans going forward.
There were some domestic performers in First Class cricket who we wanted to give a chance and increase our pool of players, so we rested Haris from this tour,” he said.
“Shadab Khan is a very important member of Pakistan T20 cricket. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury [during the National T20] and requires two further weeks of rehab. After that, he’ll be available to bowl.”
PCB Announced Squad
Shaheen Afridi (c), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mojammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan.
Matches Schedule in New Zealand
First match: 12 January, Auckland
Second match: 14 January, Hamilton
Third match: 17 January, Dunedin
Fourth match: 19 January, Christchurch
Fifth match: 21 January, Christchurch
To read our blog on “PCB announces 18-member test squad against Australia series,” click here.