Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revealed the Pak vs NZ Trophy for the T20 series starting from 18th April at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The Pak vs NZ Trophy was revealed in Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium with a press conference. Rawalpindi will organize the series’ first three games and the last two games will be held in Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
This will be the 3rd five-match series between the two sides in 12 months. Last year, Pakistan and New Zealand drew the series at two-all in Pakistan, while New Zealand clinched the series 4-1 earlier this year in their backyard when Shaheen Shah Afridi was Captain.
Pakistan has named Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Irfan Khan, and Usman Khan in the 17-player squad, which also sees the return of Babar Azam as the white-ball captain.
Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim will also be part of the squad who have recently retired back from International Cricket. Naseem Shah will also be back in the game after he was ruled out from the Asia Cup 2023 due to an injury in the game against India in Colombo because of this Naseem was not part of the pakistan team in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Azhar Mahmood, for the first time in his career, will be the head coach of the Pakistan men’s team. The former Test all-rounder has previously worked as the national side’s bowling coach from 2016-2019.
In the Pre-Match Conference, Pakistan Captain Babar Azam said:
This five-match T20I series holds a lot of importance for us as we look forward to preparing for the all-important mega-event. We had a great fitness camp in Kakul and are looking forward to expressing ourselves as a unit.
New Zealand will challenge us at different points in the series, serving as a fine workout for the Pakistan side. The prospect of having a blend of youth and experience on the side excites me as a leader
New Zealand Skipper on this occasion said:
I’m proud to be leading the team on this tour. We’ll look to play entertaining cricket as a side and take the game forward. Most of the players in our squad have played a lot of T20 Cricket growing up and they are very well equipped with the knowledge of this format. Pakistan is formidable side at home and we’ll look to put challenges in their backyard
The toss is scheduled to take place at 7pm local time and the first will be bowled at 7.30pm local time.
Pakistan and New Zealand Squad and Reserve Players:
Pakistan squad
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Irfan Khan Niazi, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan
Reserves: Haseebullah, Mohammad Ali, Agha Salman, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Wasim Jr.
New Zealand squad
Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert (WK), Ish Sodhi
Pakistan vs New Zealand T20I series schedule
April 18 — 1st T20I, Rawalpindi
April 20 — 2nd T20I, Rawalpindi
April 21 — 3rd T20I, Rawalpindi
April 25 — 4th T20I, Lahore
April 27 — 5th T20I, Lahore