Shaheen Shah Afridi to start his T20I captaincy in New Zealand as Pakistan name squad, Azam Khan and Sahibzada Farhan recalled

The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the squad for the upcoming away T20I series against New Zealand in January. Shaheen Shah Afridi will start his T20I captaincy tenure with the series while keeper-batter Azam Khan has been recalled after some encouraging performances in the National T20 Cup.

Pakistan's enlarged squad for the T20I series also comprises uncapped players including Haseebullah and Aamer Jamal, having impressed in the National T20 Cup.

Haseebullah, the keeper-batter, did well in three matches, making 80 runs with a best of 46. Jamal made his Test debut in Perth against Australia and took six wickets in the first innings. Sahibzada Farhan topped the run-scoring charts in the T20 tournament and is in line to play his first international fixture since 2018.

Pakistan Squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan.

Afridi has captained the Lahore Qalandars in the PSL and has been impressive, leading them to back-to-back titles.

"We know his capability" - Pakistan chief selector on resting Mohammad Haris

Wahab Riaz and Kamran Akmal. (Credits: Twitter)

Chief Selector Wahab Riaz explained the decision to rest Mohammad Haris from the series, saying as quoted by pcb.co.pk:

"We have rested Mohammad Haris for this series. We know his capability and he is part of our plans going forward. There were some domestic performers in First Class cricket who we wanted to give a chance and increase our pool of players, so we rested Haris from this tour."

Riaz revealed that Shadab Khan has been left out after picking up an injury during the National T20 Cup and will require some rehab.

"Shadab Khan is a very important member of Pakistan T20 cricket. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury during the National T20 and requires two further weeks of rehab. After that, he'll be available to bowl."

Reasoning Haseebullah's inclusion, the former speedster said they need to strengthen their middle order and hopes to see the keeper-batter do well. He said:

"Haseebullah played some impactful innings in the PSL in the middle order and has performed a lot in white ball cricket. He opens in domestic cricket but for team adjustment, we need to develop players for numbers four to seven.

"Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Faheem Ashraf were given chances but they couldn't create that type of impact, so now we're in a building phase to see which players can fit into these positions."

The first T20I begins on January 12 in Auckland. Hamilton (2nd T20I), Dunedin (3rd T20I), and Christchurch (4th & 5th T20I) will host the remaining matches.