Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zama,n, and Haris Rauf did not play in the series against Afghanistan. But they have returned to the team for the T20 and ODI series, which will begin against New Zealand on the 14th. Not only that but, Shaheen Afridi also returned to the national team after four months. He last played for Pakistan in November 2022. Shaheen led Lahore Qalandars to the title in the Pakistan Super League which ended last month. In PSL, he scored 133 runs with the bat at a strike rate of 168.35 and took 19 wickets with the ball. His fans and supporters believe that he will maintain his consistency in this series as well.

Ihsanullah, Saim Ayu,b and Zaman Khan held their own in the series despite Pakistan losing the series by 2-1 against Afghanistan in the UAE. So they got a place in the T20 series against New Zealand. On the other hand, Ihsanullah has been called up for the first time in the ODI team. Abhishek can also become his this time. Babar Azam will lead the ODI and T20 teams as usual. Shadab Khan is his assistant. who led Pakistan in the series against Afghanistan. Along with the announcement of the team, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also made some changes in the schedule of the five-match T20 and five-match ODI series against New Zealand. The ODI series was scheduled to start on April 26. It will now start on April 27. Earlier one ODI was scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi but according to the new schedule,e there will be two ODIs there. The remaining three will be in Karachi. There will be three T20 matches in Lahore on April 14, 1,5, and 17. Then the remaining two of the series will be held in Rawalpindi on April 20 and 24. The first two matches of the ODI series will be played in Rawalpindi on April 27 and 29. After that, the remaining three ODIs of the series will be played in Karachi on May 3, 4, and 7.

Pakistan’s 16-man T20 squad: 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, Saeem Ayyub, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, and Zaman Khan.

16-man ODI squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, and Usama Mir.

Reserve: Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Taib Tahir.