ISLAMABAD: Amid a rain intermitted situation, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first in the first match of the five T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand being played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium here on Thursday.
Evening drizzle and bad weather delayed the toss and game and there are further chances of interruption later in the game due to expected drizzle.
Earlier due to a downpour in the afternoon, the ground was covered. Later the two umpires Aleem Dar and Ahsan Raza paid a couple of visits to the ground for inspection.
Pakistan, New Zealand Series
In the 5 T20 matches series, the first three matches will be played at Rawalpindi while Lahore will host the last two games.
Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim who recently took back their decision of retirement, would likely be part of the team, whereas Haris Rauf would miss the series due to his injury in the PSL a month before.
Pakistan Squad: Pakistan – Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan and Zaman Khan.
New Zealand Squad: Michael Bracewell (c), Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, James Neesham, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi
New Zealand Young Team
The Black Caps would face Pakistan mostly with fresh faces being led by Michael Bracewell as most of the players are busy in the Indian Premier League including Kim Williamson, Mitchel March, Furgeson etc. However, still it would be an interesting series and a solid preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup to be played in the USA and West Indies in June this year.
