Shahid Afridi wants Shaheen, Shadab 'rested' after T20I series defeat to NZ

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has called for resting Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan for the final PAK vs NZ T20I.

Pakistan cricket team lost the series 1-3 after New Zealand thrashed the national side by 115 runs in the fourth game.

Batting first, New Zealand posted a mammoth 221-run total on the scoreboard and bowled out Pakistan for 105 runs to seal the five-match PAK vs NZ T20I series 3-1.

The two sides will face off in the final T20I on March 26 as the visitors will look to close the series on a high.

Ahead of the final game, former Pakistan cricket team captain Shahid Afridi called for resting senior players including Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi to give a chance to the replacements.

“For the final game, the players on the bench should be given a chance – with the series lost, Shadab and Shaheen can be rested and replacements given an opportunity,” Afridi wrote in a post on X.

It is worth noting here that the teams will travel to Napier for the first ODI, scheduled for March 29 after the conclusion of the PAK vs NZ T20I series.

The two sides will face off in the second ODI on April 2 in Hamilton, while the third and final ODI will be played in Mount Maunganui on April 5.

Pakistan cricket team squads for New Zealand tour:

T20Is: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem and Usman Khan (wk)

ODIs: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim and Tayyab Tahir.