Pakistan name 12-man squad for T20I series opener against New Zealand

After registering a 3-0 whitewash over Australia, Pakistan have named an unchanged 15-man squad for the T20I series against New Zealand. This means left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir has once again been ignored by the Pakistani selectors. The selectors have put faith in the winning combination that thrashed Australia and put in some consistent performances. The squad will hence not see the likes of experienced pacers Amir and Wahab Riaz.

During Pakistan’s final T20I against Aaron Finch’s Australians, opener Babar Azam struck a half-century while leg-spinner Shadab Khan bagged three wickets en route Pakistan’s victory over Australia by 33 runs in Dubai. Babar was particularly in great touch as he amassed over 160 runs in the series, and also reclaimed the no.1 spot in the ICC T20I batting rankings.

Incidentally, this was their first whitewash over Australia in a limited-over series. Their New Zealand assignment gets underway in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, followed by the last two T20Is in Dubai on Friday and Sunday.

12-man shortlist for Pakistan

Pakistan have also announced a shortlist of 12 men for the first T20I against New Zealand that will take place on October 31. Fakhar Zaman is injured which means Sahibzada Farhan will continue to open the innings along with Babar Azam. Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, who became a proud parent of a baby boy on Tuesday, will also add their experience to the line-up. However, there will be a toss-up between Usman Khan and Shaheen Afridi to make it to the playing XI and it will be interesting to see who gets the nod.

Meanwhile, the Kiwis have brought in a second specialist spinner to their T20I squad, with left-armer Ajaz Patel drafted in from the New Zealand A side. Their new coach Gary Stead said Patel was in good nick and would offer the required balance to the side keeping in mind the slow conditions that are prevalent in the UAE.

Here’s the 12-man squad: Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi

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