New Delhi: Pakistan picked Salman Ali Agha to lead their T20I side in New Zealand in a five-match series after excluding Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam while Shaheen Shah Afridi was dropped from the ODI squad.
Rizwan was retained as skipper for the 50-over format while Afridi kept his place in the 20-over squad. Pakistan’s tour begins on March 16 with the first of the five T20Is, followed by three ODIs.
After an ignominious exit at home from the Champions Trophy, Pakistan have made multiple changes to get their combination right in T20Is and ODIs.
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.
They brought in Shadab Khan in the T20I squad, also appointing him the vice captain to Agha.
Haris returns
The selectors of Pakistan Cricket Board also called up Mohamma Haris after a long hibernation from the national squad even as Saim Ayub remains sidelined with an ankle injury sustained in South Africa before the Champions Trophy.
Young keeper Hasan Nawaz, 22, has been picked even though he is yet to play in the Pakistan Super League and has experience of only 21 T20s. Batter Abdul Samad has been rewarded for a good run in their domestic T20 tournament while Omair Yousuf has also got the nod.
Not much change has been made in the bowling department, as Afridi and Haris Rauf are part of the T20I squad, but Naseem Shah was kept out. Among spinners, Sufiyaan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed were retained while Khushdil Shah was added.
The squads:
T20 squad: Hassan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (c), Irfan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyaan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan.
ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali 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.
Rizwan was retained as skipper for the 50-over format while Afridi kept his place in the 20-over squad. Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand begins on March 16 with the first of the five T20Is, followed by three ODIs. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
