NZ vs PAK T20Is: Who's in, who's out? Full squads and injury updates

Squad updates for New Zealand - Who’s in, who’s out?

New Zealand will be captained by Michael Bracewell as Mitchell Santner is set to miss the series due to his IPL commitment. Bracewell has been in oustanding form and he was the saving grace for New Zealand in the final of the Champions Trophy where he scored 53 not out and picked up two wickets. He will be captaining the side on home soil for the first time and had previously led the Blackcaps during their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year.

Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs and Rachin Ravindra are also absent from the series because of their IPL commitments while veteran batter Kane Williamson has made himself unavailable.

Ish Sodhi returns to the Black Caps squad after missing the home series against Sri Lanka while Ben Sears will also return from a hamstring injury which forced him to miss the Champions Trophy.

Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke will only be available for the first three matches as their workload will be managed by the team. Meanwhile Matt Henry, who had to miss the final after picking up a knock in the semi-final, has been named for the fourth and fifth matches but his participation is subject to fitness clearance. Despite missing the final, Henry finished as the leading wicket-taker of the Champions Trophy. 22-year-old Zak Foulkes has also been named for the final two T20Is.

Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, and Tim Seifert will also feature for the hosts here.

Squad updates for Pakistan- Who’s in, who’s out?

Pakistan have also made major changes and have opted for a younger squad for their tour of New Zealand. Star batter Babar Azam and current white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan have been left out for the series. In their absence, Salman Agha will lead the T20I side while Shadab Khan will take over the role of vice-captain.

Read more: No Rizwan, no Babar: Predicted Pakistan XI for New Zealand T20Is

“The decision to appoint Salman and Shadab as T20I captain and vice-captain, respectively, has been made with an eye on two major upcoming tournaments - the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 (September 2025) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (February/March 2026). Salman previously led Pakistan in a T20I series against Zimbabwe last year, winning 2-1,” read a press release from the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Openers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub hadn’t been medically cleared to participate in this tour. “Fakhar suffered a left lower intercostal muscle sprain during Pakistan’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand, while Saim is recovering from a right ankle fracture sustained on the first day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa in January. Both are expected to be fully fit for the HBL Pakistan Super League 10, starting in Rawalpindi on 11 April 2025,” the press release also said.

Mohammad Hasnain and Tayyab Tahir also missed out on selection. Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Ali could make their T20I debuts for Pakistan in this series.

New Zealand T20I squad vs Pakistan

Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (fourth and fifth T20Is), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (fourth and fifth T20Is), Kyle Jamieson (first three T20Is), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke (first three T20Is), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.

Pakistan T20I squad vs New Zealand

Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Irfan Khan Niazi, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.

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