Pakistan announced the 35-men squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour, starting from December 18. The Pakistani side will play two Tests and three ODIs.
“Against this background and taking into consideration recent player performances, we have selected the best available players. While the national side will be involved in one format, Shaheens will be in action in the other format. This means all the players will be busy and playing competitive cricket.” said Misbah, Head Coach in Lahore during the press conference.
Babar Azam has been appointed the new captain of Pakistan’s Test side after the series loss to England. The former captain Azar Ali has been retained after the hard-fought hundred in the last series. Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammed Rizwan has been appointed the vice-captain.
Test batsman Asad Shafiq has been omitted out from the squad due to his poor form. Mohammad Amir and Shoaib Malik have also been dropped from the squad.
The PCB stated that the players will depart for New Zealand on November 23 and they will spend the compulsory 14-day quarantine period.
Here is the complete squad for the tour:
Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Zeeshan Malik, Babar Azam (C), Azhar Ali, Danish Aziz, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Haris Sohail, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Butt, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan (VC), Rohail Nazir, and Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Yasir Shah, Zafar Gohar, Amad Butt, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Musa, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz
Here’s the schedule of the New Zealand-Pakistan series:
Dec 18 – First T20I, Eden Park, Auckland
Dec 20 – Second T20I, Seddon Park, Hamilton
Dec 22 – Third T20I, McLean Park, Napier
Dec 26-30 – First Test, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
Jan 3-7 – Second Test, Hagley Oval, Christchurch
