Pakistan star batter Babar Azam has been out of form for quite some time. After the failure of the World Cup, he also gave up the captaincy of Pakistan. Pakistan team will start its journey under the leadership of new captain Shaheen Shah Afridi in T20. 

Shaheen has been quite successful as a captain in Pakistan's franchise tournament Pakistan Super League (PSL). He won two titles each for Lahore Qalandars. However, he is going to be the captain for the first time in international cricket. The first assignment before him is the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Before entering the field in the first match, Shaheen kept his teammate Babar in front. According to him, Babar is not in off-form.

Shaheen said in the press conference, “I don't think Babar's form is declining, one or two innings don't make a difference. He is our best batter. He has scored so many runs that I can't count them. One or two poor innings don't make any difference to me. He is a great player and for Pakistan, as a captain, as a player he has performed many times. Babar Azam is Pakistan's best player.”

There have been rumors for a long time that Pakistan might move away from the opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20 cricket. Captain Shaheen also said that. Before entering the field in the first T20I against the Kiwis, Shaheen has given a glimpse of change in the opening pair. He added, "Babar and Rizwan will always be the best opening pair for Pakistan. I think we have 17 matches before the World Cup, and we should try different combinations and try to figure out which player fits in which position and we will try to play them [in that position]. There might be some changes, or maybe not. But the effort will be to have the team combination ready before England tour. In the four T20s against England before T20 World Cup, we should know our best playing XI.”

Tomorrow, January 12, Pakistan will take the field against New Zealand in the first match of the five-match T20I series. The game will start in Auckland at 12:00 PM Bangladesh time.