Pakistan will travel to New Zealand for a five-match T20I series starting this Sunday (March 16). Here's what their playing XI could look like for the first game.
Pakistan squad for New Zealand T20Is
Last week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced their ODI & T20I squads for this white-ball tour, with a few major shake-ups. Most notably, T20I skipper Mohammad Rizwan was left out of the squad, as was batter Babar Azam. Both players have been included in the ODI squad, though.
Shadab Khan returned to the fold, and has been named vice-captain with regular vice-captain Salman Ali Agha stepping up to take the reins in Rizwan's absence. Openers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were left out due to recent injuries.
Find the full Pakistan squad for the New Zealand series here.
Predicted Pakistan XI for the New Zealand T20Is
From Pakistan's most recent T20I against South Africa, four of their starting XI are not part of this squad – Rizwan, Babar, Ayub and Tayyab Tahir. The absence of the former three means it will be an entirely different top three this time around.
In recalled wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, Pakistan have a player who can slot in at the top or at No.3. He is likely to play the entire series. If he opens the batting, Pakistan can either hand a debut to 22-year-old Hasan Nawaz or pick Omair Bin Yousuf who opened at the 2023 Asian Games as well as the recent tour of Zimbabwe, and bat Usman Khan at No.3. An alternate option is to play Haris at No.3, and open with both Nawaz and Bin Yousuf.
Shadab Khan could bat at No.4, as he has done several times for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, with skipper Salman Ali Agha coming in at No.5. Irfan Khan Niazi will provide power down the order at No.6, with Khushdil Shah or another debutant in Abdul Samad (T20 strike rate 146.5) potentially batting at No.7 instead of Abbas Afridi who did so in their last game.
Pakistan's bowling attack is likely to remain similar to their previous T20I, with Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed starting. None of them are part of the ODI squad, so should play all five T20Is. Left-arm seamer Jahandad Khan could also retain his place as a bowling all-rounder at No.8. If Pakistan are keen on giving him more chances, left-arm leggie Sufiyan Muqeem could also play instead of Abrar.
Predicted Pakistan XI for New Zealand T20Is: Omair Bin Yousuf, Mohammed Haris (wk), Usman Khan, Shadab Khan (vc), Salman Ali Agha (c), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Jahandad Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
