Saturday, March 15, 2025
News

This is a young team, and we want to play fearless cricket: Salman Agha

   SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend    Print this Page   COMMENT

New Delhi | March 15, 2025 4:13:04 PM IST
Pakistan will play a five-match T-20 series in New Zealand, followed by three ODI matches. The series will begin with the T-20 series on March 16 at Christchurch Hagley Oval.

Salman Agha, Pakistan's newly appointed T20I captain, has highlighted the necessity of enhancing their mindset and strategy and the importance of playing "fearless" and "high-risk cricket." For repeatedly questioning the strike rate in T-20 cricket, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are out altogether, eying the T-20 World Cup next year.

Saim Ayub is still out due to his injury. Pakistan has a very new team for this series, so it will be difficult for them to play against the CT 2025 runner-ups. New Zealand will also be missing a few key players due to IPL 2025.

Fast bowler Matt Henry rejoins the squad after being absent for the Champions Trophy final versus India in Dubai. In the fast bowling lineup, Will O'Rourke and Kyle Jamieson will participate in the initial three matches as Kane Williamson has decided to skip the series.

Salman Agha has been named Pakistan's new T-20 captain, while Shadab Khan, who is making his T-20 return in this series, has been named as his deputy. Michael Bracewell has been named captain of New Zealand because Mitchell Santner is unavailable due to his IPL commitments.

The surface at Hagley Oval is commonly recognised for benefiting batsmen. Teams that bat second have experienced a greater success rate at Hagley Oval in T20 internationals.

Before the series started, Kiwi skipper Michael Bracewell spoke about the new-looking Pakistan squad. He said new players are coming onto their team; they are unknown, but he felt that if they do everything according to plan, that'll be good for anyone against them.

"We've probably had a bit more of focus on ourselves. With a few new young players coming into the Pakistan side, there is a bit of the unknown. But I think as long as we know what we are trying to do, that'll be good enough for anyone that comes up against us." Michael Bracewell said, as per a quote from ESPNcricinfo.

Salman Agha also expressed his views ahead of the clash between Pakistan and New Zealand. He said, "We have a new side, and we want to play fearless cricket. High-risk cricket is required in modern-day cricket."

"This is a young team, and we want to play fearless cricket. That is high-risk cricket, which is a requirement in modern cricket. There will be failures with that approach, but we have to support our players." Salman Agha said.

New Zealand Squad: Tim Robinson, Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell(c), Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, Kyle Jamieson, William O'Rourke, Mitchell Hay

Pakistan Squad: Omair Yousuf, Usman Khan(w), Abdul Samad, Mohammad Haris, Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha(c), Irfan Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan. (ANI)

 
  LATEST COMMENTS ()
POST YOUR COMMENT
Comments Not Available
 
POST YOUR COMMENT
 
 
TRENDING TOPICS
 
 
CITY NEWS
MORE CITIES
 
 
 
MORE SPORTS NEWS
'Luckily, I didn't grow up with a phone'...
Tendulkar vs Lara: A nostalgic showdown ...
'Only trophy she hasn't had...': DC aim ...
Cricket Scotland has hidden behind juris...
Kolkata Knight Riders aim for back-to-ba...
Nitish Reddy clears fitness test set to ...
More...
 
INDIA WORLD ASIA
Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets Mizo...
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami inaugurates...
'Very irrelevant, deliberately did to ge...
Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal participates in l...
Congress's Ramesh Chennithala blames CPI...
Munger ASI murder: Seven accused identif...
More...    
 
 Top Stories
Maharashtra: Fire breaks out at com... 
Sharad Pawar writes to PM Modi, req... 
Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets... 
"Glimpse into what jungle-raj looks... 
'Test': R Madhavan to play struggli... 
"Fascinating conversation!": PM Mod... 
Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal participates... 
"Very irrelevant, deliberately did ...