Six members of Pakistan T20I squad depart for New Zealand series

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Six members of the Pakistan T20I squad departed on Wednesday night for Auckland via Dubai from Lahore to feature in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

The five-match T20I series will be played from 12 to 21 January in Auckland, Hamilton, Dunedin and Christchurch.

The six members of the squad include Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Sahibzada Farhan. These six players, along with nine additional players – Ahmed Shehzad, Arif Yaqoob, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Imran, Omair Bin Yousaf, Sajjad Ali Jnr and Shahab Khan – took part in the series preparation camp.

These players underwent a four-day camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, where under High-Performance Coach and camp commandant Yasir Arafat, they featured in two match scenarios and different practice sessions to equip themselves with the modern T20 cricket skills. The six players of the 16-member squad also trained for the fifth day on Tuesday, when the camp concluded.

Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, who has been released from the Test squad, has joined fellow bowlers – Zaman Khan, Haris Rauf and Usama Mir – to train for the T20I series. All four players will depart from Australia for Auckland on 5 January, where the remaining players named in the T20 squad will join them.

Full squad: 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 (wicket-keeper), 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