Shaheen Shah Afridi is all set to return to international cricket after four months when he was named in the Pakistan T20I and ODI squads for the series against New Zealand, which will be played in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi from 14 April to 7 May.
Shaheen had missed five Tests and three ODIs against England and New Zealand post the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 as he was completing his rehabilitation following a knee injury he had sustained during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in July. He had subsequently missed the second Test against Sri Lanka, ODI series against the Netherlands, ACC Asia Cup in the UAE, and the seven-match T20I series in Pakistan.
Apart from Shaheen, also returning to both the squads are Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Rizwan. All these players had rested for last month’s three-T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.
This means Babar Azam will resume his normal services as captain in the ODI and T20I series against New Zealand, while Shadab will return to his original position as vice-captain.
Three young guns, Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, and Zaman Khan, have been retained in the T20I squad following stellar performances in Sharjah, while Ihsanullah has also been added to the ODI squad for the first time in his career.
The squad will assemble in Lahore on 6 April where the training camp will commence on 7 April.
Here are the squads:
T20I
| Babar Azam (c) | Shadab Khan (vc) | Faheem Ashraf | Fakhar Zaman |
| Haris Rauf | Ifitkhar Ahmed | Ihsanullah | Imad Wasim |
| Mohammad Haris | Mohammad Nawaz | Mohammad Rizwan | Naseem Shah |
| Saim Ayub | Shaheen Afridi | Shan Masood | Zaman Khan |
ODI
| Babar Azam (c) | Shadab Khan (vc) | Abdullah Shafique | 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 | Usama Mir |
