Pakistan Cricket Board has announced a 17-members squad for the 5-match T20i series to be played in New Zealand from 12 January to 21 January 2024 across four venues namely; Auckland, Hamilton, Dunedin and Christchurch.
In this series, Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead Pakistan Team for the first as he was named t20i captain by PCB soon after 50-over world cup 2023.
Players in 17-member Squad:
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Captain), Abbas Afridi, Aamir Jamal, Azam Khan (wicket-keeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Muhammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Wasim Jr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan.
Wahab Riaz, PCB Chief Selector said, “It is very important for us to give a chance to a pool of young talented players as they will be representing Pakistan going forward as this is the best squad as we also want to build back ups. By giving chances to these top domestic performers at international level, we want to see what type of performances they are capable of producing”.
He added, “Muhammad Haris and Shan Masood are rested during this series. We are aware of their talent in T20i and that is why they are part of our future plans. We will call them into the squad during this series if we see any gap to be filled by them”.
Considering the conditions in New Zealand, Pakistan has decided to go with 6 fast bowlers namely; Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Zaman Khan.
In this squad Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi and Haseebullah got their first call to present their country at International level. Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Ihsanullah will not be part of this series due to injuries.
Pakistan will visit New Zealand soon after completion of the ongoing test series with Australia as the 3rd and last test match between Australia vs Pakistan will be played from 3rd to 7th January 2024 at Sydney.
Schedule of 5-match T20i Series:
1st T20i Match – 12 January 2024 – at Eden Park – Auckland
2nd T20i Match – 14 January 2024 – at Seddon Park – Hamilton
3rd T20i Match – 17 January 2024 – at University Oval – Dunedin
4th T20i Match – 19 January 2024 – at Hagley Oval – Christchurch
5th T20i Match – 21 January 2024 – at Hagley Oval – Christchurch