Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz on Tuesday announced a 17-member squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The series will begin in Auckland on January 12. Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the Pakistan national cricket team for the first time in this series as the new era begins for Pakistan.

Wahab Riaz spoke about the initial pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20Is for Pakistan while attending a press conference in Lahore. Babar and Rizwan have been opening innings in T20Is for Pakistan since 2021.

“In the future, it is necessary to conduct experiments. Our job is to provide a team to the director and the captain. As Sahibzada Farhan is also an opener, we will have to see what combination they take the team forward with and who they prefer.” Wahab said.

“Any player who opens in this series, and if it’s not Babar or Rizwan, just in case, and he comes in and puts in a good performance, he doesn’t need to take that spot. It often happens in Pakistan that a player who plays consistently, due to some illness or fitness reasons, is unable to play a particular match. Then another comes in his place, and if he acts, we prefer him. In my opinion, the one who has a consistent performance should regain that place.” he added.

Pakistan have a good record against New Zealand

The Men in Green have a really good record against New Zealand, especially in T20Is. They have beaten New Zealand in the last four ICC events i.e. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022 and most recently ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. However, the Kiwis They also have a strong team with Kane Williamson back as captain. . It will be interesting to see how Pakistan approach this series in terms of team combination.

The team is currently in Australia for a three-match Test series that began inauspiciously. Australia registered a resounding victory by 360 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series. The two teams will now meet in Melbourne for the ‘Boxing Day Test’ and then move to Sydney for the New Year’s Test. Australia has dominated Pakistan in recent years in all formats.

Pakistan’s entire initial fiasco would be revealed in the first T20I against New Zealand. It is highly unlikely that Babar and Rizwan will open because it was always considered a change of things for the two batsmen. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are likely to occupy their ODI position of number 3 and 4 respectively in T20Is. It is speculated that Rizwan is not likely to be the first-choice wicketkeeper/batsman for the series and Pakistan will consider Azam Khan for the role.

Pakistan squad for T20I series against New Zealand: Shaheen Afridi (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan