PCB announces white-ball team for PAK vs. NZ 2025 after Babar and Rizwan are benched for T20Is.

Babar Azam and captain Muhammad Rizwan have been left out of the squad. Instead, Salman Ali Agha has been given the captaincy responsibilities by the selecting committee. The teams for the multi-format series in New Zealand, which starts one week after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 concludes, were revealed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, March 4. For the five Twenty20 Internationals that begin on March 16.

To assemble competitive groups for both forms, the selection committee, led by Chief Selector Aqib Javed, has carefully taken into account the players’ recent results and level of fitness. After a tough Champions Trophy tournament, the goal is to improve Pakistan’s reputation in international cricket.

Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan, Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, and Salman Ali Agha are the members of the Pakistan T20I team.

Fakhar Zaman‘s injury keeps him out of the ODI team.

The ODI team is made up of both up-and-coming talent and seasoned veterans. The selection of athletes who have proven tenacious and talented in domestic competitions points to a calculated strategy for assembling a strong lineup. Imam-ul-Haq, a southpaw opener, has been kept as the top-order option following Fakhar Zaman’s injury during the Champions Trophy opener against the BlackCaps.

Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim, and Tayyab Tahir comprise the Pakistani ODI team.

Pakistan’s dismal showing in the 2025 Champions Trophy

The latest ICC Champions Trophy campaign performance of the Men in Green fell short of expectations. They faced early elimination even though they were supposed to take advantage of the home advantage as hosts. The team had a difficult start and tone after losing by 60 runs against New Zealand in the tournament’s opening match. Their dreams of making it to the semi-finals were further dashed when they lost to arch-rivals India by six wickets.

Pakistan’s campaign ended without a victory when the rain forced the cancellation of the final group match against Bangladesh. Captain Muhammad Rizwan discussed the high expectations and the necessity of lookout in relation to this result. In order to better prepare for next series, especially the upcoming tour of New Zealand, he underlined the importance of taking lessons from past defeats.