The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the Pakistani squad for the upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand, which will begin later this month, on Tuesday. From March 16 to April 5, the series will include five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and three One Day Internationals (ODIs).
Pakistan squads for the New Zealand tour:
T20I squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, 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 T20.
Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Ali are the three uncapped players in the T20I squad, while Akif Javed and Mohammad Ali have not yet made their ODI debuts. The four players have been rewarded for their impressive performances in the Champions One-Day and T20 Cups. Abdul Samad scored 115 runs at a strike rate of 166.67 in the Champions T20 Cup, while he scored 145 runs at a strike rate of 122.88 in the Champions One-Day Cup.
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Likewise, Hasan Nawaz had a stellar Champions T20 Cup, finishing as the second-leading run-getter with 312 runs at a strike rate of 142.47. In the Champions T20 Cup, Mohammad Ali took the most wickets with 22; in the Champions One-Day Cup, he took three. Akif Javed has been selected for the ODI side after his seven wickets in five Champions One-Day Cup matches, while he took 15 wickets in the Champions T20 Cup.
Based on medical advice, openers Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman were not considered for either format. During Pakistan’s opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand, Fakhar sustained a sprain to his left lower intercostal muscle.
Saim is still recovering from a right ankle fracture he 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, which will begin on April 11, 2025, in Rawalpindi. Aqib Javed will continue as interim head coach for the New Zealand tour.
His original term was until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but he has been asked to extend his tenure while the search for a permanent head coach begins. As batting coach, Mohammad Yousuf has been appointed.