Pakistan team has made quite a few changes to their white-ball squads for the tour of New Zealand. Veteran batter Babar Azam and keeper Mohammad Rizwan have been dropped from the T20I squad with Salman Ali Agha becoming the new captain for the tour.
Pakistan will play 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs in New Zealand from March 16 to April 5.
This is the first squad announced since Pakistan's humiliating exit from the Champions Trophy 2025 at home, various changes have occurred, including the return of Shadab Khan, who has also been chosen T20I vice-captain, and the 20-over captaincy being awarded to Salman Agha.
“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.
As part of preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan is set to play a minimum of five T20Is in the ACC Asia Cup 2025 and three T20Is each against West Indies (away, July), Afghanistan (home, August), Ireland (home, September), South Africa (home, September/October), Sri Lanka (home, November) and Australia (home, January 2026),” a PCB statement read.
Mohammad Rizwan will continue to lead the ODI team as Pakistan prepares for the ICC Men's 50-over Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be held in Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe in October/November 2027.
The T20I team includes three uncapped players (Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Ali), while Akif Javed and Mohammad Ali have yet to make their ODI debuts. The four players were awarded for their outstanding performances in the Champions One-Day and T20 Cups.
Openers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were not considered for either format due to medical reasons. Fakhar sprained his left lower intercostal muscle during Pakistan's opening match against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
Saim is healing from a right ankle injury that occurred on the first day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa in January. Both are projected to be totally healthy for the HBL Pakistan Super League 10, which begins in Rawalpindi on April 11, 2025.
Aaqib Javed will serve as temporary head coach during the New Zealand tour. Mohammad Yousuf has been appointed as the batting coach.
Pakistan squads for the New Zealand tour:
T20I squad:
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan
ODI squad:
Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim and Tayyab Tahir.
(A wicketkeeper/batter will be added to the ODI squad following the T20Is)
(PCB inputs)
