Pakistan in NZ
\nShadab Khan returns to the T20I side as vice-captain, while Rizwan retains his ODI captaincy
\n Lahore
\nPakistan have shuffled the deck once more in an attempt to find the right T20I combination, dropping captain Mohammad Rizwan as well as Babar Azam for the five-match series in New Zealand.
\nIn the first squad announced since Pakistan\u2019s ignominious exit from a home Champions Trophy, there are several changes, including the return of Shadab Khan\u2013also appointed vice-captain, and the awarding of the T20I captaincy to Rizwan\u2019s deputy Salman Agha. On the ODI front, Rizwan retains his captaincy, but Shaheen Afridi has been dropped.
\nAccording to a PCB release, Mohammad Haris returns after an extended spell out of the national side, while Saim Ayub remains absent with the ankle injury he picked up in South Africa. Hasan Nawaz, the 22-year old wicketkeeper who has played just 21 T20s, is in the squad.
\nAbdul Samad, the 27-year-old big-hitting batter who is also yet to play PSL cricket, comes in after a positive domestic T20 tournament showing. Quetta Gladiators batter Omair Yousuf earns a call-up as Pakistan pivot sharply away from their experienced batters in the format.
\nThere are fewer changes in the bowling department, with the make-up roughly the same as it was for their recent T20I series in South Africa. Afridi and Haris Rauf are part of the squad, but Naseem Shah\u2013who last played T20Is against Australia in November\u2013remains absent. Spinners Sufiyaan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed retain their places, while Khushdil Shah comes into the side.
\nThese changes bring an end to an unhappy, if brief, stint as T20I captain for Rizwan. He led Pakistan as full-time captain in just four completed T20Is, losing all of them. He was absent for the three T20Is in Zimbabwe, with Agha leading the team as Pakistan won 2-1.
\nBabar\u2019s absence, too, suggests Pakistan are once again looking to break free of the Babar-Rizwan combination at the top of the order. The duo have polarised opinion almost as soon as the combination was set up in 2020. Critics have panned them for being too-risk averse at the start in T20Is, but their reliability and consistency of run accumulation, set in contrast against an oft-misfiring middle order, had seen Pakistan continue to return to them.
\nThe ODI squad doesn\u2019t include such drastic changes, except for the omission of Afridi. He was Pakistan\u2019s best bowler in their ODI series wins in South Africa and Australia. Rizwan retains the ODI captaincy and Babar is in the squad, while Abdullah Shafique returns after being dropped for the Champions Trophy.
\nLeft-arm quick Akif Javed earns a maiden ODI squad selection while Sufiyaan Muqeem returns as well.
\nPakistan play five T20Is in New Zealand starting March 16, followed by three ODIs.
\nPakistan T20I squad: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Agha (capt), Irfan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyaan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
\nPakistan ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan (capt), Salman Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan in NZ Shadab Khan returns to the T20I side as vice-captain, while Rizwan retains his ODI captaincy Lahore Pakistan have shuffled the deck once more in an attempt to find the right T20I combination, dropping captain Mohammad Rizwan as well as Babar Azam for the five-match series in New Zealand. In the first squad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465256,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-465227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n