Pakistan Team Arrives In Christchurch For White-ball Series Against New Zealand

Pakistan team arrives in Christchurch for white-ball series against New Zealand (Image Source: IANS)

ICC Champions Trophy: Pakistan team arrived in Christchurch on Thursday ahead of their T20I series opener against New Zealand on March 16. Pakistan are set to play five T20Is and three ODIs during their three-week tour.

It will be Pakistan's first white-ball series after a debacle performance in the home ICC Champions Trophy where they failed to win a match and faced an early exit from the tournament. Pakistan lost to New Zealand and arch-rivals India before their match against Bangladesh was washed out due to rain in Rawalpindi.

In the T20Is, Pakistan will be led by Salman Agha with Shadab Khan as vice-captain while three uncapped players – Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Ali - have been added to the squad in the absence of senior players including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the format.

Rizwan will continue as ODI captain, with Salman serving as his deputy for the three 50-over matches scheduled at the backend of the tour from March 29 to April 5.

"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," the Pakistan Cricket Board had said in a release.

As part of preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan are set to play a minimum of five T20Is in the ACC Asia Cup 2025 and three T20Is each against Bangladesh (home, May), West Indies (away, July), Afghanistan (home, August), Ireland (home, September), South Africa (home, September/October), Sri Lanka (home, November) and Australia (home, January 2026).

Rizwan will continue leading the ODI side as Pakistan builds towards the ICC Men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup 2027, which will take place in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe in October/November 2027.

Aqib Javed will continue as interim head coach for the New Zealand tour. His original term was until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but he has been asked to extend his tenure while the search for a permanent head coach begins while Mohammad Yousuf was appointed as batting coach.

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.

Aqib Javed will continue as interim head coach for the New Zealand tour. His original term was until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but he has been asked to extend his tenure while the search for a permanent head coach begins while Mohammad Yousuf was appointed as batting coach.

Article Source: IANS