PCB likely to announce 18-player squad for Pakistan’s T20I series against NZ in coming days

Lahore [Pakistan]: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to announce the Men in Green squad in a couple of days for their upcoming home T20I series against New Zealand which will be held later in the month according to Geo News.

The Pakistan men’s cricket team are currently taking part in the fitness camp being conducted by trainers from the Pakistan Army in Kakul. Skipper Babar Azam and Pakistan’s chief selectors are consulting to finalise the list of players who will feature in the five-match T20I series. According to Geo News sources, an 18-player squad will be announced for the series.

Speedster Haris Rauf could be in doubt for the series as he suffered a shoulder injury during the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) and is in the rehabilitation phase.

Players who are expected to be a part of the five-match series are Babar, Saim Ayub, Muhammad Rizwan, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Imad Waseem, Muhammad Amir, Zaman Khan, Usman Khan, Wasim Jr, Irfan Niazi and Abbas Afridi.

On Monday, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met the players who are currently a part of the training camp. According to ESPNcricnfo, Naqvi met star speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi in Kakul on Monday and reached a truce after the recent captaincy change fiasco.

Afridi was removed from the T20I captaincy on Sunday after leading the Men in Green in just one series, which saw Pakistan lose 4-1 against New Zealand. The PCB reinstated Babar Azam as the skipper of the white ball format ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Naqvi and Afridi held talks and according to ESPNcricnfo, Afridi was still not fully convinced by the way his concerns were addressed but he was willing to put the entire matter behind him.

The T20I series will kick off on April 18 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and will conclude on April 27 at the Gaddafi Stadium, in Lahore.