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Pakistan To Drop Babar Or Rizwan? Shaheen Afridi Drops Bombshell In PC Before 1st T20I vs NZ

image-lr8w6kcgShaheen Afridi will lead Pakistan against New Zealand [X.com]

Post Babar Azam-era continues for Pakistan, with Shaheen Shah Afridi leading the T20I side in New Zealand for a gruelling five-match series that gets underway from Friday. Afridi, who has captained Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League (PSL) with success, guiding the franchise to two successive titles, ahead of the first T20I in Auckland stated that Pakistan will hand out several young players chances throughout the series.

Pakistan have named a balanced side with youngsters like Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Sahibzada Farhan, and Haseebullah, who have shone in various leagues. As quoted by Cricket Pakistan, Afridi also gave his hot-take on the raging Azam-Rizwan opening pair, stating how the management and think-tank are looking to try out various combinations looking at the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. 

Reports suggest that explosive opener Saim Ayub, will likely get the nod to partner with Rizwan, which will move Azam to No.3 position.

There might be some changes, or maybe not - Shaheen Shah Afridi

"Some young players are making a comeback like Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal and Sahibzada Farhan and there are some new players like Haseebullah and Abbas Afridi. We are hoping to give them a chance in these five T20Is and upcoming T20I matches ahead of the World Cup.  Babar and Rizwan will always be the best opening pair for Pakistan. 

"I think we have 17 matches before the World Cup, and we should try different combinations and try to figure out which player fits in which position and we will try to play them [in that position]. There might be some changes, or maybe not. But the effort will be to have the team combination ready before the England tour. In the four T20s against England before the T20 World Cup, we should know our best playing XI."

Speaking about leading Pakistan in the T20I, the 23-year-old star pacer expressed his excitement and looked forward to giving New Zealand their best, against home the Asian giants have enjoyed several triumphs.