Pakistan T20I Tri-Series 2025: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe | Match 01 | Rawalpindi | November 18 | Pre-Match Discussion

[hassan918]

Pakistan will face Zimbabwe in the opening match of the Pakistan T20I Tri-Series 2025, as the hosts look to launch their campaign with a strong performance in front of a supportive Rawalpindi crowd. With a squad that mixes experience and fresh talent, Pakistan will aim to take early control of the tournament, while Zimbabwe, guided by the leadership of Sikandar Raza, arrive keen to push hard and fine-tune their T20 setup for the season ahead.

Pakistan Squad:
Salman Agha (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (†), Usman Tariq


Zimbabwe Squad:
Sikandar Raza (c), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Brad Evans, Clive Madande (†), Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Brendan Taylor (†)

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[finalfantasy7]

First game against zimbabwe i will go for

Farhan, ayub, barbar, fakhar, u khan, agha, nawaz, Ashraf, wasim, mirza, Tariq

Give afridi and shah a rest



but lets see who plays

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Why are Babar, salman n all still playing ? They should have given chance to youngsters

 

[Kianig89]

Fakhar
Saim
Babar
Agha
Usman
Nawaz
Samad
Faheem
WasimJr
Salman
UTariq
-------------------

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Salman Ali Agha shared following thoughts in Pre-Match Press Conference today:

Strategy and Team Changes
* "Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), our preparations have been good, and there is no change in the team. The changes you saw in the series against South Africa were noted by everyone. Our strategy will also remain the same because we have been playing T20 cricket for the last three or four months, so we will try to stick to this strategy."

* "Yes the Pindi crowd is always huge; they come in numbers, and the houses are always full. Regarding new players, we will try to give everyone in the current 15-man squad opportunities. But ultimately, when you play, your first priority is to win matches, especially in T20 cricket where you cannot afford to have a 'light' team. So, the main priority will be to win, while also trying to give maximum chances to others."

Combination and All-Rounders
* "You must have noticed over the last three or four months that our preferred combination leans towards all-rounders. Alhamdulillah, we have all-rounders who can open the batting and also bowl. You will see a similar combination in this series as well."

* "A good all-rounder provides a luxury for us. Nawaz can bowl four overs in a T20 game, and Faheem can too. The last series was a playoff series, and we have all-rounders who can bat at four, bowl their full quota of overs, and are complete bowlers who can also perform with the bat. So, why shouldn't we utilize these players? Teams around the world are doing it, and if we don't follow, then people will say we are lagging. When the opportunity is available nearby, why not take it?"

Middle/Lower Order Batting and Options
* "I don't think our lower order is performing badly. When players like Nawaz, Faheem, and even Shaheen come in, you've seen the impact they had in winning the Asia Cup and in the last series. We can say, though, that the desired performance is not coming from the middle order the way we want it to."

* "Hasan Nawaz is not here, but I have full hope he will be back in the Pakistan team very soon. In his place, if I consider Samad, we might give him an opportunity because he also bats at number six and can play the role of a finisher."

Momentum and World Cup Preparation
* "Keeping the World Cup in mind, will we be experimenting in the series, or will we 'Go for the kill' and run only in the Powerplay? I can't field 12 boys; I can only field 11. So, we will try to give opportunities to the players who were with us in the New Zealand series and have now returned after four months."

* "White ball cricket is non-stop. We played well in the South Africa and Sri Lanka series, and we will try to maintain the same momentum here and carry it forward to the next series. All the coming series are preparation for the World Cup, so we must try to play cricket in that same manner."

Personal Batting Form
* "In cricket, good and bad times keep coming. During the Asia Cup, I was not in the best form, and my frame of mind wasn't great. As a batsman, having a good frame of mind is very important. And yes, when there are failures in international cricket, it gets a little tough. But Alhamdulillah, I have been performing well in the last white ball series, and I will try to maintain a good frame of mind to continue the current performance."

Off-Spin Bowling Option
* "Absolutely, if there are left-handed batsmen in the line-up, we certainly will use my off-spin. Why wouldn't we? We try that Sim and I bowl together, but if one of us is bowling very well on a particular day, we might rely on him. In T20, it's a bit difficult for two off-spinners to bowl together continuously because T20 cricket moves so fast that one expensive over can put the match in trouble."

* "But I am trying that both of us bowl three or four overs together. If only one left-hander is there, I will bowl. We both try together, and I think that right now, I have become a bowler for every phase. The effort is to mix both (spinners) and keep bowling."

 

[Devadwal]

This is going to be good contest between eventually matched team's @Rana

 

[AZulfi]

Usman Khan knows that he needs to perform now. Potential without performance means nothing. With no further fixtures planned as yet until the T20 World Cup in February next year, this is likely Usman’s (Tom) last chance to deny Rizwan (Jerry).. lol

 

[Kianig89]

Huge pressure on Agha the T20 player, time ticking on him his SR of 109 serves no purpose to a team labelled as full of intent merchants , so much at stake.

 

[Rana]

Huge pressure on Agha the T20 player, time ticking on him his SR of 109 serves no purpose to a team labelled as full of intent merchants , so much at stake.

Huge pressure on “***"" merchants” actually to somehow get Rizwan back in and destroy Pakistan cricket like they did in 2019 by making the grace mistake of removing Sarfaraz

 

[The Bald Eagle]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1990415673890320828

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Love our Zimbabwean bros and Sri Lankans.

Both stood with us when Afghans targeted our cities and pulled out of our tournaments.

 

[Devadwal]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1990415673890320828

Are you sure.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Are you sure.

Any doubts, watch my post again

 

[Devadwal]

Any doubts, watch my post again

May they got the fever due to fear . I can understand

 

[The Bald Eagle]

May they got the fever due to fear . I can understand

Hahaha...so you don't even trust SLC tweet

 

[AZulfi]

Abrar Ahmed should be our first-choice spinner. Usman Tariq has a weird action to say the least. Soon team’s will suss him out

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistan should win big.

 

[Kianig89]

Usman Khan for once and all can settle the debate and give the tombstone to Rizwan T20 career, but there have many before who tried to dethrone Rizwan none has succeeded so far ( Azam, Haris, Haseebullah etc) . Rizwan continues to rise again

 

[Rana]

Usman Khan for once and all can settle the debate and give the tombstone to Rizwan T20 career, but there have many before who tried to dethrone Rizwan none has succeeded so far ( Azam, Haris, Haseebullah etc) . Rizwan continues to rise again

Rise again for what? 55* off 50 against Canada?

 

[Devadwal]

Hahaha...so you don't even trust SLC tweet

When players are forced to play they have to take another route to go to home

 

[Aami]

Not convinced about Pak T20 side ... they dont even a workable side let alone one with a potential to win anything.

Farhan
Saim
Babar (until the lady luck stops smiling)
Salman ???
Usman???
Abdul Samad???
Nawaz
Faheem
Afridi
Wasim
Abrar