PCB name Mohammad Rizwan as vice-captain of T20I team ahead of New Zealand tour

Pakistan cricket team has announced the deputy of Shaheen Afridi in T20I cricket. Notably, the PCB has appointed star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan as the vice-captain ahead of the New Zealand tour, where they are all set to play the five matches of the T20I series against the Kiwis scheduled to take place on January 12.

Notably, Babar Azam had a great year in 2022, where he guided Pakistan to enter the final of the T20 World Cup 2022; however, his side suffered defeat in the final game against England at the iconic MCG. However, the 29-year-old cricketer had an awful edition of the ODI World Cup 2023, where his side failed to reach the playoffs with just 4 wins out of 9 games of the league stage, which pushed him to resign from the captaincy.

Following the same, Shaheen Shah is appointed as the T20I skipper after his successful stint in PSL. However, Shan Masood has been appointed the captain of the Test team. Shan Masood had an awful start to his captaincy as his side recently lost the Test series by 0-3 against Australia and failed to win a single Test match against the new ODI World Cup 2023 champions.

Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan will be looking to get things back on track for Pakistan

Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan will be looking to get things back on track for Pakistan. Moreover, the Men in Green will be looking to boost their preparation for the T20 World Cup 2024 after an awful edition of the ODI World Cup 2023 in host country India.

Pakistan Squad for NZ T20Is: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicket-keeper), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan

Full Schedule

1st T20 – 12 January 2024 at Eden Park, Auckland

2nd T20 – 14 January 2024 at Seddon Park, Hamilton

3rd T20 – 17 January 2024 at University Oval, Dunedin

4th T20 – 19 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch

5th T20 – 21 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch