LAHORE: Pakistan will play New Zealand at the National Bank Cricket Arena in the first Test of the two-match series.
The home side added three more players to the original 16-man squad. Mir Hamza, Sajid Khan and Shahnawaz Dahani are the players.
Shahid, chairman of the interim selection committee, hinted at Hamza’s inclusion in the first Test as Naseem Shah is yet to recover from a shoulder injury.
Speaking to the media after reviewing the pitch with selection committee member Abdur Razzaq and convener Haroon Rashid, Afridi said Hamza is required in the playing XI in the absence of Shaheen Afridi.
“Our aim is to try our bench strength. A lot of our senior players are out for a long time. We will try and manage workload as Babar highlighted this issue previously,” Afridi said.
“Hamza has performed really well in past couple of years and he deserves to be in the team. In absence of Shaheen, we needed a left-arm pacer. His inclusion will be worthy for us,” he added.
“We discussed and included two pacers yesterday. Our decision was right as now we got to know that Naseem is not fully fit”
Meanwhile, Afridi also backed pacer Shahnawaz Dahani, who was one of three additions to the Test squad made by him on Saturday.
“Shahnawaz has been travelling with the team for quite a long time now. He needs chances to prove his worth,” the former cricketer said.
Afridi emphasised they are here to support captain Babar Azam. “This is our team and we will together make it successful. We are here to support Babar and make him number one captain.”
