Salman Agha to Lead Pakistan in T20Is Against New Zealand

Salman Agha will lead Pakistan's T20I squad in the upcoming series against New Zealand. Notable absentees from the squad include regular white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan and former T20I World No. 1 Babar Azam. Rizwan will continue as ODI captain on the multi-format tour.

The PCB aims to prepare Agha for the Asia Cup in 2025 and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India with this move. Agha previously captained Pakistan against Zimbabwe, leading the team to a 2-1 series victory. Legspinner Shadab Khan, who last played in the shortest format for Pakistan in the Men's T20 World Cup last year, has been named vice-captain.

Three uncapped players have been included in the T20I side: Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Ali. Samad scored 115 runs in the Champions T20 Cup, while Nawaz was the second-highest run-getter in the competition with 312 runs. Ali was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 scalps. Shaheen Afridi returns to the T20I squad after missing the South Africa series in December.

Ali and uncapped Akif Javed have been added to the ODI squad. Javed took seven wickets in five matches in the Champions ODI Cup.

Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were not considered for selection due to injuries. An additional batter/wicketkeeper will join the ODI squad following the T20I series.

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

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
• 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
• Tayyab Tahir

A wicketkeeper/batter will be added to the ODI squad following the T20Is.