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The ODI and T20I teams for Pakistan’s upcoming series against New Zealand were revealed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday.
With his inclusion in the Pakistani squads for the series against New Zealand, which will be contested in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi from April 14 to May 7, Shaheen Shah Afridi is ready to make his return to international cricket after a four-month absence.
Following the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, Shaheen missed five Test matches and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against England and New Zealand while he recovered from a knee injury, he had acquired in the first Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle in July.
The ACC Asia Cup in the UAE, the second Test against Sri Lanka, the ODI series against the Netherlands, and the seven-match T20I series in Pakistan were all missed as a result.
The 22-year-old, who has taken 99 Test, 62 ODI, and 58 T20I wickets, made a stunning comeback in Pakistan Super League 8, motivating Lahore Qalandars to become the first team to successfully defend the championship.
Shaheen not only contributed greatly with the ball and bat, taking 19 wickets at an economy rate of 9.13 and scoring 133 runs at a strike rate of 168.35.
Together with Shaheen, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Rizwan are all returning to both squads. For the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan last month in Sharjah, all of these players had taken a break.
This means Shadab will take over as vice-captain and Babar Azam will resume his duties as captain for the ODI and T20I series against New Zealand.
Squads for the Twenty20 Internationals are as follows: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Af
ODI: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Usama Mir. Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, and Tayyab Tahir are the reserves.
Schedule for the series (T20Is will begin at 9 p.m.; ODIs will start at 3 p.m.):
1st T20I, Lahore, 14 April
2nd T20I, Lahore, 15 April
3rd T20I, Lahore, 17 April
4th T20I, Rawalpindi, April 20
5th T20I, Rawalpindi, 24 April
1st ODI, Rawalpindi, 27 April
2nd ODI, Rawalpindi, 29 April
Third ODI, May 3, Karachi
4th ODI, Karachi, May 5.
5th ODI, Karachi, 7 May
