Pakistan vs New Zealand: PCB announces the 15-man squad for the T20I series

After inflicting a whitewash on Australia in the three-match T20I series, there is no respite for Pakistan. They will be locking horns against New Zealand in the same format from October 31. The team and also the fans will hope that they will continue a good vein of form in the T20 format in order to hold on to their number 1 spot in the ICC rankings. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the squad for the series and have retained the same set of players.

There was no need to change anything for the selectors as the Men in Green played near flawless cricket against the Aussies. In all the three games, they batted first and put up a decent total on the board for the conditions and the bowling attack every time made sure that they defended it comfortably. The fact that they’ve won 40 times defending a score of 150 or more and lost only thrice is the testament to Pakistan’s strength.

Will Maqsood get a debut?

Pakistan had a great chance to give the left-arm pacer, Waqas Maqsood, a go in the dead rubber against Australia. But they decided against it by picking Usman Khan in the playing XI. It will be interesting to see if the uncapped cricketer will be handed a debut against the Kiwis now.

Fakhar Zaman will look at this series as another opportunity to come back in form in the shorter formats while his partner Babar Azam has been exceptional with the bat. The senior players like Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik have time and again proved their worth to the side. Also, Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan skipper, needs to spend some time in the middle to gain more confidence.

The bowling attack is as usual at his best and there should be no worries in that facet of the game for the hosts. The Men in Green have beaten New Zealand comprehensively in their own den earlier this year and would be looking to pile on the agony this time as well.

Pakistan squad for the T20I series: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Usman Khan, Waqas Maqsood.

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