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Pakistan star pacer Shaheen Afridi will lead a 17-player squad against New Zealand in the T20I bilateral series. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday.
The series in New Zealand, which starts on January 12 will be Afridi's first assignment as the team's full-time T20I skipper. Due to an injury, senior all-rounder Shadab Khan, who served as the T20I team's vice-captain during the Men's T20 World Cup, will not be selected. "Shadab Khan is a very important member of Pakistan T20 cricket. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury (during the National T20) and requires 2 further weeks of rehab. After that, he'll be available to bowl," Chief Selector Wahab Riaz said while announcing the squad regarding Shadab's absence as quoted y ICC. With as many as three wicketkeepers in the squad, a number of other rookies were given a chance to impress. Nevertheless, Riaz clarified that Mohammad Haris, who performed admirably in the T20 World Cup, was left off the team in order to give other players who had performed well in local cricket a chance. The other wicketkeeper in the team is Haseebullah Khan, a twenty-year-old who made an impression in the Pakistan Super League. Because they are recuperating and becoming healthy again, fast bowlers Ihsanullah, Naseem Shah, and Muhammad Hasnain were not taken into consideration. Azam Khan, one of the three wicketkeepers, came in for special mention from Riaz. "We have watched Azam Khan very closely. At times, you have to prefer skills over fitness. If a player can win you a match, that's more important than anything else. We've seen he's a high-impact player in PSL, domestic cricket, other leagues - we've tried many players at No.6 so now we want to give Azam a chance," Riaz stated. Pakistan squad: Shaheen Afridi (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan. (ANI)
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