PCB announces Pakistan 'A' squad for four-day matches against New Zealand 'A'

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has recently announced a 14-man ‘A’ squad for the couple of four-day encounters against visitors New Zealand ‘A’, starting Tuesday, October 30 at International Cricket Council (ICC) Academy in Dubai. The second encounter is scheduled to take place from Tuesday, November 6 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium Nursery 1 in Abu Dhabi.

The home team has had a topsy-turvy campaign thus far. They won the first unofficial T20 in Dubai but went on to lose the next two matches at the same venue. Subsequently, they also slumped to lose the series 1-2. Nevertheless, the hosts came back to comprehensively whitewash New Zealand by 3-0 in the unofficial One Day matches, played in Abu Dhabi.

Rahat Ali- their most experienced head

Mohammad Rizwan, the wicketkeeper-batsman, who captained the team in the last two 50-overs fixtures, has been appointed as the skipper of the team for the red-ball matches. Sami Aslam and Shan Masood are the openers and a lot would depend on them for the reason that they have the experience of representing the national team at the highest level.

Mir Hamza, who made his international debut in the second Test against Australia in Abu Dhabi, is also a part of the squad. In the contest, he could only get one wicket and would be keen to get his rhythm back. Left-arm seamer Rahat Ali is the most experienced player in the team and his team would be looking upon the Punjab-born speedster to fire all guns blazing.

The Pakistan team is also scheduled to play three Tests against New Zealand, starting November 16 in Abu Dhabi and the ‘A’ matches provide an opportunity for both teams’ players to stake their claim into the senior team.

Here is the squad

Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Usman Salahuddin, Mohammad Saad, Saud Shakeel, Saad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (C & wk), Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Asghar, Mir Hamza, Waqas Ahmed, Taj Wali, Rahat Ali

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