Photo Credit: Instagram Photos of @babarazam, @mrizwanpak
Pakistan has made significant changes to their squad ahead of the upcoming T20 series against New Zealand, dropping captain Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. The five-match series, starting on March 16, will see all-rounder Salman Ali Agha taking over the captaincy, with Shadab Khan appointed as his vice-captain. Agha, who previously led Pakistan to a 2-1 victory in a T20 series against Zimbabwe late last year, will now helm the team in this new chapter.
Rizwan, however, retains his position as the captain for the three One Day Internationals (ODIs) against New Zealand, which begin on March 29. Babar Azam is also included in the ODI squad. Despite this, the Pakistan selectors have made several changes to the ODI roster following Pakistan’s early exit from the Champions Trophy, where they lost to both New Zealand and India. Their campaign ended in fourth place in the group, after their final match against Bangladesh was washed out.
Among the significant changes, fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been included in the T20 squad but have been dropped from the ODI team. Additionally, top-order batters Kamran Ghulam and Saud Shakeel have been omitted from both formats, while opener Abdullah Shafique makes a return after being left out of the Champions Trophy squad due to his three consecutive ducks in South Africa.
Injuries to openers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub have kept them out of the eight white-ball games in New Zealand. Neither of the left-handed batters were considered for selection.
Pakistan’s interim head coach, Aaqib Javed, explained the rationale behind the squad selections, emphasizing the need for a more aggressive and fearless approach in T20 cricket. “We need to play fearless and aggressive cricket in the T20 format and that’s why we have brought in new players,” he told reporters. “Nowadays, teams are scoring over 200 in T20 cricket. We also need batters who could utilize the first six overs of the batting powerplay and play big shots.”
Javed’s contract was initially set to end with the Champions Trophy but will be extended as the Pakistan Cricket Board continues its search for a permanent head coach.
Among the fresh faces in the T20 squad are uncapped players Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Ali. Samad made a mark in the domestic T20 Champions Cup, scoring 115 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 166.67. Nawaz also impressed with 312 runs, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. Mohammad Ali, a right-arm fast bowler, topped the bowling charts with 22 wickets, further solidifying his place in the squad.
Here are the squads for the upcoming series:
T20 Squad:
- Salman Ali Agha (captain)
- Shadab Khan (vice-captain)
- Abbas Afridi
- Abdul Samad
- Abrar Ahmed
- Haris Rauf
- Hasan Nawaz
- Irfan Khan
- Jahandad Khan
- Khushdil Shah
- Mohammad Ali
- Mohammad Haris
- Omair Bin Yousaf
- Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Sufiyan Muqeem
- Usman Khan
ODI Squad:
- Mohammad Rizwan (captain)
- Salman Ali Agha
- Abdullah Shafique
- Abrar Ahmed
- Akif Javed
- Babar Azam
- Faheem Ashraf
- Imam-ul-Haq
- Irfan Khan
- Khushdil Shah
- Mohammad Ali
- Mohammad Wasim
- Naseem Shah
- Sufiyan Muqeem
- Tayyab Tahir
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
