Pakistan drop Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan from T20I setup as they name white-ball squads for New Zealand tour

Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand will begin on March 16.

On Tuesday, March 4, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced their squads for the upcoming limited-overs tour of New Zealand, starting on March 16.

The biggest surprise from the announcement is the exclusion of captain Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam from the T20I squad. The change came after the duo was criticized for their slow strike rate following Pakistan’s group-stage exit at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Salman Agha has been named the captain of the T20I side, while the returning Shadab Khan will be his deputy.

In the bowling department, the Asian giants have mostly retained the lineup that played in the recent T20I series in South Africa. Naseem Shah, who last played T20Is against Australia in November, remains absent, while Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf are part of the squad.

Pakistan drop Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan from T20I setup as they name white-ball squads for New Zealand tour

Rizwan has retained the ODI captaincy, however, star speedster Shaheen Afridi has been dropped from the ODI side. Mohammad Haris returns after a long spell out of the national side. Saim Ayub remains absent due to the ankle injury he picked up in South Africa.

After their lack of intent in the middle overs during the Champions Trophy, Pakistan have included big-hitter Abdul Samad for his impressive performances in domestic cricket.

Pakistan squad for New Zealand tour:

T20I: Salman Ali Agha (c), Hassan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris Abdul Samad, Irfan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyaan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan

ODIs: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-Ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.

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