Babar, Rizwan dropped from Pakistan's T20I squad for New Zealand series

Pakistan have dropped Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I squad for the upcoming New Zealand series, with the cricket board tapping Salman Ali Agha to lead the side in the shorter form.

However, Rizwan will continue as captain for the ODI series, with Babar also included in the squad, while Shaheen Shah Afridi has been left out of the 50-over format.

The New Zealand series will run from March 16 to April 5.

In a statement, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that the decision to appoint Salman and Shadab as T20I captain and vice-captain, respectively, has been made with an eye on two major upcoming tournaments.

The events include the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 (September 2025) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (February/March 2026). Salman previously led Pakistan in a T20I series against Zimbabwe last year, winning 2-1.

Squads
T20I: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim

ODI: Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir

source geo news