Pakistan cricket team reached Christchurch, 5 T20 match series will be played from this day
NZ vs PAK 2025 T20 and ODI Series Schedule: Pakistan will be led by Salman Aga in the T20 series, while Shadab Khan will be the vice-captain and three uncapped players have also been included in the team.
The Pakistan team landed in Christchurch yesterday in preparation for the first match in the T20 series against New Zealand on March 16. Pakistan has a tour that consists of playing five T20s and three ODIs in three weeks' time. This is Pakistan's first white-ball tour since their lackluster performance in the home ICC Champions Trophy, in which they were unable to win a single game and were knocked out of the tournament early. They were defeated by New Zealand and arch-rival India before their match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi was abandoned owing to rain.
Salman Agha will lead Pakistan in the T20 series, with vice-captaincy held by Shadab Khan, and three uncapped players, Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Ali, being named in the team in place of senior players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Rizwan would be the ODI skipper, but Salman would be his vice-captain in the three 50-over matches that would be played towards the conclusion of the tour from March 29 through April 5.
The decision to appoint Salman and Shadab as T20 captain and vice-captain respectively has been taken keeping in mind two major upcoming tournaments – the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 (September 2025) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (February/March 2026). Salman led Pakistan in the T20 series against Zimbabwe last year, which they won 2-1,” the Pakistan Cricket Board said.
As part of preparations for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan is scheduled to play at least five T20Is in the ACC Asia Cup 2025 and three T20Is each against Bangladesh, West Indies, Afghanistan, Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia. Rizwan will continue to lead the ODI side as Pakistan prepares for the ICC Men's 50-over Cricket World Cup 2027, which will take place in Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe in October/November 2027. Aqib Javed will continue as interim head coach for the New Zealand tour. His original tenure was until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but he has been asked to extend his tenure until the search for a permanent head coach begins, while Mohammad Yousuf has been appointed as batting coach.
Pakistan for NZ vs PAK T20 series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), 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 and Usman Khan.
Pakistan for NZ vs PAK ODI series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Aaqif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim and Tayyab Tahir.
