The first T20 between Pakistan and New Zealand will be played today, Abbas Afridi and Usama Mir make their T20 debut. In the national team, Muhammad Rizwan and Saeem Ayub will open while Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman will play at number four.
Iftikhar Ahmed will play at number five and Azam Khan at number six, Amir Jamal at number seven and Usama Mir at number eight.
Captain Shaheen Afridi
Captain Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf are also included in the final XI of the national team, while Azam Khan is included in the final XI of Pakistan as a wicketkeeper.
Match Timing
The first match of the 5 T20 series between Pakistan and New Zealand will start today at 11:10 AM.
T20 Series Trophy
The trophy for the series of 5 T20 matches between Pakistan and New Zealand has been unveiled. Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson participated in the unveiling of the T20 series trophy.
Schedule of T20 Series
The teams of Pakistan and New Zealand will face each other tomorrow in Auckland at 11:00 AM Pakistan time. The second match of the series between the two teams is scheduled on Sunday, the third on 17th, the fourth on 19th and the last match on 21st January. It should be noted that the outline of the Pakistan team for the first T20 against New Zealand in Auckland has been prepared.
Pakistan Squad
According to sources, the Pakistan team led by Shaheen Afridi will enter the field with 4 fast bowlers. Pakistan team outline ready for first T20 against New Zealand.
Along with captain Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan, the fourth fast bowler will be Aamir Jamal, while Muhammad Nawaz will be preferred over leg-break giggly bowler Osama Mir.
Sources say that former captain Babar Azam will play at number three, Saeem Ayub will open the innings along with wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan, and aggressive pacer Fakhar Zaman has agreed to play at number four. Azam Khan will play as a wicket keeper if he joins the 11-member squad.
T20 Record – Pakistan vs New Zealand
How is Pakistan’s T20 record against New Zealand? Pakistan team is led this time by Shaheen Afridi, but before this, Pakistan team’s performance against New Zealand is good.
The two teams have faced each other 34 times in T20 matches so far, out of which Pakistan won 20 matches and New Zealand won 13 matches, while the result of one match was inconclusive.
Pakistan’s highest score in T20 format against New Zealand is 201 and lowest is 101. It should be remembered that the last match between the two teams was played in the ODI World Cup 2023, in which Pakistan won the match under the Duckworth-Louis system due to the smoky batting of Fakhar Zaman.