Shadab or Salman Agha? Who will be Pakistan’s new T20I captain?

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has shared his predictions for the national squad ahead of the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) official announcement for the upcoming limited-overs tour of New Zealand.

The squad for five T20Is and three ODIs will be unveiled on Tuesday during a media conference at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, where interim head coach Aqib Javed will reveal the selected players. The PCB has confirmed that the event will be live-streamed on its official YouTube and Facebook channels.

Former cricketer Rashid Latif has revealed his squad for the five-match T20I series, excluding Babar Azam and Naseem Shah. He also predicted that Shadab Khan will captain the Pakistan side for the T20I series against New Zealand.

His predicted squad includes a mix of experienced players and emerging talents such as Mohammad Haris, Sufyan Muqeem, Irfan Khan Niazi, Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Umair Bin Yousuf, Khushdil Shah, Hassan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Haris Rauf, Usman Khan, Hussain Talat, and Mohammad Ali.

However, he also suggested that the PCB may consider appointing Salman Ali Agha as T20I captain to avoid any controversy.

For the ODI series, Latif believes the squad will be led by a coaching staff comprising Aqib Javed as head coach, Mohammad Yousuf as batting coach, Azhar Mehmood as bowling coach, and Mohammad Masroor as fielding coach.

He predicts that the squad will feature Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Akif Javed, Mohammad Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Sufyan Muqeem, and Faheem Ashraf.

With the official announcement imminent, it remains to be seen how accurate Latif’s predictions are and whether the PCB makes any unexpected selections for the crucial tour against New Zealand.

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