Pakistan name white-ball squads for New Zealand tour
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LAHORE:
Salman Ali Agha has been named Pakistan’s T20I captain, with Shadab Khan as vice-captain, for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand from 16-26 March.
Mohammad Rizwan will continue as ODI captain, with Salman serving as his deputy for the three 50-over matches scheduled at the backend of the tour from 29 March to 5 April.
The decision to appoint Salman and Shadab as T20I captain and vice-captain, respectively, has been made with an eye on two major upcoming tournaments – the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 (September 2025) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (February/March 2026). Salman previously led Pakistan in a T20I series against Zimbabwe last year, winning 2-1.
As part of preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan is set to play a minimum of five T20Is in the ACC Asia Cup 2025 and three T20Is each against West Indies (away, July), Afghanistan (home, August), Ireland (home, September), South Africa (home, September/October), Sri Lanka (home, November) and Australia (home, January 2026).
Mohammad Rizwan will continue leading the ODI side as Pakistan builds towards the ICC Men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup 2027, which will take place in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe in October/November 2027.
Pakistan squads for New Zealand tour:
T20i Squad – Salman Ali AGHA (CAPTAIN), Shadab Khan (Vice -Captain), abdul Samad, abarar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Africi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Youssaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan
ODI squad – Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim and Tayyab Tahir. A wicketkeeper/batter will be added to the ODI squad following the T20Is
In the T20I squad, there are three uncapped players – Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Ali – while Akif Javed and Mohammad Ali the two players who have yet to debut in ODIs. The four players have been rewarded for their impressive performances in the Champions One-Day and T20 Cups.
Openers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were not considered for either format on medical advice. Fakhar suffered a left lower intercostal muscle sprain during Pakistan’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand, while Saim is recovering from a right ankle fracture sustained on the first day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa in January.
Both are expected to be fully fit for the HBL Pakistan Super League 10, starting in Rawalpindi on 11 April 2025.
Aqib Javed will continue as interim head coach for the New Zealand tour. Mohammad Yousuf has been appointed as batting coach.
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