The Pakistan coach, Aaqib Javed and T20I skipper for the New Zealand series, Salman Ali Agha too a strong stand to leave out under-performing Shaheen Shah Afridi from the playing XI of the 5th T20I. While the Kiwis have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, and the presence of the left-hander won’t have changed the outcome; but he was poor throughout in the four games before this.
Shaheen Shaf Afridi Dropped from Pakistan XI
In the Pakistan-New Zealand series, Shaheen Shah Afridi only picked up two matches, and went wicketless in three. In the last match at Mount Maunganui, he was particularly wayward and leaked 49 runs in his spell of 4 four overs. In fact, the 24-year-old, former T20 skipper has been going through a rough patch for a long, long time now.
Pakistan vs New Zealand, Hosts Take 3-1 Lead
During the Champions Trophy 2025, Shaheen had bagged only two wickets in two matches, and given away 142 runs in the 108 deliveries he had bowled. His performance was also one of the reasons why Pakistan did not win any match in the tournament.
Meanwhile, as far as the series is concerned, the hosts have shown total domination. They won the first match at Christchurch by 9 wickets, followed it up with a five-wicket win in Dunedin. Then Pakistan did comeback in the third, where they won by 9 wickets in Auckland, but then later once again failed in Mount Maunganui.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Haris(w), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha(c), Omair Yousuf, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Mohammad Ali
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