Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Wednesday a 35-player squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour, from which the men’s national team will be selected.
Babar Azam has been named captain of Pakistan in all formats. His vice-captain in Tests will be Mohammad Rizwan, while Shadab will be the vice-captain in T20I.
Pakistan has eliminated Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Amir from their team. Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said the team has decided to leave Malik and Amir as they now look to invest in the youth.
“There are three major omissions from the team that toured England. Asad Shafiq has been sidelined for lack of form after he had 510 runs in his last 15 innings, including a total of 67 runs in England. Asad is a seasoned hitter and I’m sure he will use this time to work harder on his game in top-class domestic matches so that, like Sarfaraz Ahmed, he can regain his form and compete again in the upcoming events against South. Africa and Zimbabwe “ Misbah said in an official PCB statement.
“Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Amir are not part of the white ball matches as for this tour we have chosen to invest, develop and focus on the promising and emerging players who will likely be available for Pakistan in all formats.” added.
Players, along with the 20-member player support staff, will depart for Lincoln on November 23, where they will go through the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
The Pakistan men’s team will play three T20Is on December 18, 20 and 22, and the ICC World Trials Championship matches will be held in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch from December 26 to 30 and January 3 to 7, respectively.
In addition to the 35 players involved in the intra-squad matches leading up to the series as part of their preparations, players from the Pakistan men’s national team not participating in international matches against New Zealand will be available to be selected for Shaheens matches. against New Zealand A.
This also means that non-T20I test players in the first half of the series against New Zealand will be available for the Shaheens selection, who are expected to play four-day matches against New Zealand A during that period.
“The games in New Zealand are fundamental for us as our aim is to improve our T20I ranking and also win valuable points in the ICC World Test Championship. In this context and taking into account the recent performances of the players, we have selected the best players available. “ Pakistan’s head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said in an official statement.
When the national team is involved in ICC World Test Championship matches against New Zealand, the men’s national team players who are not part of those matches will be available for selection to the Shaheens, who are expected to participate in matches. of more than 20 against New Zealand during those days.
The 35-player squad is:
Openers: Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, and Zeeshan Malik.
Middle Order Hitters: Babar Azam (captain), Azhar Ali, Danish Aziz, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Haris Sohail, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Butt, Khushdil Shah, and Mohammad Hafeez.
Wicketkeepers: Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, Tests), Rohail Nazir and Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Spinners: Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan (vice-captain, T20I), Usman Qadir, Yasir Shah and Zafar Gohar
.
Fast Bowlers: Amad Butt, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Musa, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Khan, and Wahab Riaz.
