New T20I captain named as Pakistan announce white-ball squads for New Zealand tour

LAHORE: Salman Ali Agha has been named the T20I captain as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced two separate white-ball squads for the upcoming tour of New Zealand on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, returning all-rounder Shadab Khan will serve as vice-captain for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand from 16-26 March.

“The decision to appoint Salman and Shadab as T20I captain and vice-captain, respectively, has been made with an eye on two major upcoming tournaments – the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 (September 2025) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (February/March 2026),” the PCB stated in a press release.

“As part of preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan is set to play a minimum of five T20Is in the ACC Asia Cup 2025 and three T20Is each against West Indies (away, July), Afghanistan (home, August), Ireland (home, September), South Africa (home, September/October), Sri Lanka (home, November) and Australia (home, January 2026).”

Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan will continue as ODI captain, with Salman serving as his deputy for the three 50-over matches scheduled at the backend of the tour from 29 March to 5 April.

In the T20I squad, there are three uncapped players – Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Ali – while Akif Javed and Mohammad Ali are the two players who have yet to debut in ODIs.

The four players have been rewarded for their impressive performances in the Champions One-Day and T20 Cups.

In the Champions T20 Cup, Abdul Samad scored 115 runs at a strike-rate of 166.67 after aggregating 145 runs at a strike-rate of 122.88 in the Champions One-Day Cup.

Likewise, Hasan Nawaz had a staller Champions T20 Cup, finishing as the second leading run-getter with 312 runs at a strike-rate of 142.47.

Mohammad Ali, with 22 wickets, was the leading wicket-taker in the Champions T20 Cup, while he took three wickets in the Champions One-Day Cup.

Akif Javed has been selected in the ODI side after his seven wickets in five Champions One-Day Cup matches, while he took 15 wickets in the Champions T20 Cup.

Openers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were not considered for either format on medical advice.

Fakhar suffered a left lower intercostal muscle sprain during Pakistan’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand, while Saim is recovering from a right ankle fracture sustained on the first day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa in January.

The series between Pakistan and New Zealand will run from 16 March 16 to 5 April, featuring five T20Is and three ODIs. The T20I series will kick off in Christchurch on 16 March, while the second match is scheduled to be played in Dunedin on 18 March.

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The third match will be played in Auckland on 21 March, while the subsequent games are scheduled in Mount Maunganui and Wellington on 23 and 26 March, respectively.

Following the T20I series, the teams will travel to Napier for the first ODI, scheduled for 29 March. The second ODI will be played on 2 April in Hamilton, while Mount Maunganui will host the final ODI on 5 April.

Pakistan squads for New Zealand tour

ODIs: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr., Mohammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.

T20Is: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan (wk)

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