Will Babar Azam and Rizwan continue to open for Pakistan in T20Is?

Pakistan men's chief selector, Wahab Riaz, on Tuesday announced a 17-member squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting from January 12 in Auckland.

While speaking in press conference in Lahore, Wahab Riaz talked about the opening combination of Babar and Rizwan in T20 cricket.

"Going forward, you need to conduct experiments. Our job is to provide a team to the director and captain. Since Sahibzada Farhan is also an opener, we will have to see with which combination they take the team forward and whom they prefer," Wahab said.

"Any player who opens in this series, and if he is not Babar or Rizwan, just in case, and he comes in and gives a good performance, it is not necessary that he will grab that place. Often in Pakistan, it happens that a player who consistently performs, due to some illness or fitness reasons, cannot play a particular match. Then someone else comes in his place, and if he performs, we prefer him. In my opinion, the one who is a consistent performer should get that place back," he added.

Pakistan squad: Shaheen Afridi (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan