ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the squads for the upcoming T20 international (T20I) and one-day international (ODI) series against New Zealand.
Shaheen Shah Afridi is all set to make his come back to international cricket after a four-month absence due to injury. The series will take place in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi from April 14 to May 7.
Shaheen Afridi had missed five Tests and three ODI matches against England and New Zealand post the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last year as he was completing his rehabilitation after a knee injury. He had sustained the injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last year in July.
Shaheen had subsequently missed the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka, ODI series against the Netherlands side, ACC Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the seven-match T20I series in Pakistan.
However, the 22-year-old made a remarkable comeback in the Pakistan Super League 8, where he led Lahore Qalandars to victory and was named captain of the Team of HBL PSL 8. He scored 133 runs and took 19 wickets, both at impressive rates.
Other players returning to both squads include Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, and Haris Rauf. These players had rested for the three-T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.
Babar Azam will resume his role as captain in the T20I and ODI series against New Zealand, while all-rounder Shadab Khan will return to his position as vice-captain.
Squad for ODI and T20I series
The T20I squad includes three young guns who have been retained following their impressive performances in Sharjah: Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, and Zaman Khan. Ihsanullah has also been added to the one-day squad for the first time in his career.
The national squad will assemble in Lahore on April 6, and the training camp will begin on April 7.
The T20Is will start at 9 pm, while the ODIs will begin at 3.30 pm.
The schedule is as follows:
April 14 – 1st T20I, Lahore
April 15 – 2nd T20I, Lahore
April 17 – 3rd T20I, Lahore
April 20 – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
April 24 – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
April 27 – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
April 29 – 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi
May 3 – 3rd ODI, Karachi
May 5 – 4th ODI, Karachi
May 7 – 5th ODI, Karachi
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children. He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
