ISLAMABAD
\nA full-strength Pakistan is set to take on a New Zealand side depleted by the Indian Premier League (IPL) when their five-match T20 series gets underway in Lahore from Friday.
\nEight Kiwis are missing because of the IPL and skipper Kane Williamson has a bad knee injury, leaving the captaincy to batsman Tom Latham \u2014 and providing plenty of opportunity for newcomers to shine.
\nWhile Pakistan\u2019s top cricketers featured in the inaugural edition of the multibillion-dollar IPL in 2008, they have been barred since \u2014 mirroring the frosty diplomatic relations between the neighbours.
\nPakistan and New Zealand will also meet in five one-day internationals after the T20 series, honing preparations for this year\u2019s 50-over World Cup in India.
\nPakistan, runners-up to England in last year\u2019s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia, welcome back skipper Babar Azam and key players Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf. They were rested for the recent losing series against Afghanistan.
\nShaheen\u2019s return will be his first international match since injuring his knee in the World Cup final.
\nPakistan boast a new backroom team with former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Bradburn taking head coach duties for the 10 matches from Abdur Rehman.
\nNew sensation Ihsanullah, who goes by only one name and bowls at a ferocious 150 kilometres (90 miles) an hour, kept his place despite the disastrous loss against Afghanistan, along with opener Saim Ayub and pacer Zaman Khan.
\n\u201cWe have a good squad that marries the exuberance of youth and the experience of senior cricketers,\u201d skipper Azam said, adding they would not take a weakened Black Caps side lightly.
\n\u201cInternational cricket demands full commitment and that\u2019s what we are focused on,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are going to bring our \u2018A\u2019 game and keep ourselves focused for good results.\u201d
\nNew Zealand\u2019s interim coach Shane Jurgensen is in a confident mood despite missing so many players.
\n\u201cIt will be a quick turnaround from the fantastic series win against Sri Lanka,\u201d said Jurgensen of New Zealand\u2019s 2-1 T20 victory.
\nFormer spin-king Saqlain Mushtaq will be Jurgensen\u2019s assistant \u2013 just two months after completing his stint as Pakistan\u2019s head coach.
\n\u201cIt will be a challenging series,\u201d Jurgensen said. \u201cObviously Pakistan are a fantastic team to play in the white-ball format, so it\u2019s a good opportunity to challenge them.\u201d
\nThe tour comes as something of compensation for New Zealand pulling out of their visit to Pakistan on the day of the first game in September 2021, citing security concerns.
\nThe Black Caps played two Tests and three ODIs in Pakistan just three months ago. The remaining four T20 matches are on April 15 and 17 in Lahore, and 20 and 24 in Rawalpindi.
\nTeams
\nPAKISTAN: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zaman Khan
\nNEW ZEALAND: Tom Latham (captain), Chad Bowes, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Will Young, Dane Cleaver, Cole McConchie, Blair Tickner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD A full-strength Pakistan is set to take on a New Zealand side depleted by the Indian Premier League (IPL) when their five-match T20 series gets underway in Lahore from Friday. Eight Kiwis are missing because of the IPL and skipper Kane Williamson has a bad knee injury, leaving the captaincy to batsman Tom Latham […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n