Pakistan will play a five-match T20I series in New Zealand for Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first assignment since being appointed full-time T20I captain.

The series will start on Friday, January 12 at Eden Park, before the squads travel to Hamilton and Dunedin with the final two matches being played in Christchurch. Afridi was appointed captain of the side in November 2023 after Babar Azam stood down as all-format captain. Mohammad Rizwan has been named as vice-captain after regular deputy Shadab Khan was ruled out of the series with an ankle injury.

Mohammed Haris has also been left out of Pakistan’s 17-player squad, despite new chief selector Wahab Riaz reiterating that Haris is part of Pakistan’s long-term plans. Naseem Shah is still continuing to recover from the injury he sustained in September which kept him out of the World Cup. In another blow to Pakistan’s fast-bowling lineup, Ihsanullah is not yet fully recovered from surgery he underwent on an elbow injury last year, and Mohammad Hasnain was also unavailable for selection for the series due to injury.

Haris Rauf will return to Pakistan colours for the series after he withdrew himself from selection for the Test series in Australia. Aamer Jamal has also been included after a successful red-ball tour in Australia.

New Zealand have also had to contend with injuries when selecting their squad. Kane Williamson has recovered from his knee injury sufficiently to play in the series, but he will sit out the third match as he continues to manage his workload. Mitchell Santner will take over the captaincy for that game. Uncapped batter Joel Clarkson has been called up as cover for the third match only.

Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson have also both recovered from injuries – the latter only available from the third T20I onwards. Devon Conway will also return after missing the white-ball series against Bangladesh, while Rachin Ravindra has been rested for the entire series after an intense period of international commitments.

New Zealand T20I squad vs Pakistan: Kane Williamson (c) (game 1, 2, 4 & 5), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson (game 3 only), Mitchell Santner (c – game 3 only), Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ben Sears (game 1 & 2), Lockie Ferguson (game 3, 4 & 5)

Pakistan T20I squad vs New Zealand: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan

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