Salman Agha Named Pakistan T20I Captain For NZ Series

Salman Ali Agha is all set to lead Pakistan's T20I team in the upcoming tour of New Zealand. Meanwhile, Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan have been axed from the T20I squad. While Shaheen Shah Afridi has been left out of the ODI squad. Mohammad Rizwan continues to lead the side in the ODI format. These changes have been made after Pakistan's poor outings in the ODI Tri-Series involving South Africa & New Zealand & also a poor campaign in the ongoing Champions Trophy where they finished at the bottom of Group A.

Agha has been appointed as the T20I skipper of the Pakistan team and given two big upcoming tournaments the Asia Cup which will be played in the T20 format & the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup slated to be held in India & Sri Lanka next year. Salman led Pakistan to a 2-1 series win in the T20I series against Zimbabwe last year. Shadab Khan who last played T20Is for Pakistan in the T20I World Cup last year has earned a recall to the T20I side & has also been named as the Vice-Captain of the team.

In a bid to reward the domestic performances, Pakistan has included three uncapped players in the T20I side - Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Ali. Samad scored 115 runs striking at 166.67 in the Champions T20 Cup while Nawaz finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 312 runs. Ali was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 scalps. Shaheen Shah Afridi marks a comeback into the T20I setup after missing the T20I rubber against South Africa.

Ali has been called up to the ODI squad as well alongside uncapped Akif Javed. Javed picked 7 scalps in 5 matches in the Champions Cup.

Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were not considered for selection due to injuries & advised rest by the medical team. Zaman is still recovering from a left lower intercostal muscle sprain he sustained during Pakistan's Champions Trophy opener while Ayub is on the sidelines due to the right-ankle fracture he suffered during the Test against South Africa in Cape Town, back in January. An additional batter/wicketkeeper will also be added to the ODI squad following the T20I series.

Pakistan will play five T20Is and three ODIs against New Zealand from March 16 to April 5.

Pakistan squads for New Zealand tour

T20I squad - Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan

ODI squad - Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim and Tayyab Tahir.