The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to include new-found talents in the March-April T20I series against New Zealand. This is being done after Pakistan's humiliating Champions Trophy exit when they became the first team to be knocked out despite being the host country. Based on reports, emerging talents from national cricket have been summoned to Lahore to attend a meeting with board officials during the selection process. The effort goes with Pakistan's vision for the 2026 T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka.

🚨Mohammad Rizwan has been removed from T20I captaincy after today's meeting with PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. [Ejaz Wasim Bukhari]

- Shadab Khan is likely to lead the Pakistan T20I squad for New Zealand tour. pic.twitter.com/yKrZsTU7y5

— Salman 🇵🇰 (@SalmanAsif2007) March 1, 2025

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Meanwhile, ex-wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif came up with a list of youth players to be considered for the next series. His suggestions are Hassan Nawaz, Ali Raza, Abdul Samad, Akif Javed, and Muhammad Nafay. Besides, he thinks all-rounder Shadab Khan is the best choice to be the captain of the T20I team.
The wicketkeeper batter further shared some more names for the likely squad which are Muhammad Haris, Sufyan Muqeem, Arafat Minhas, Irfan Khan Niazi, Zaman Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Agha Salman, Abrar Ahmed, Omair Bin Yousuf and Khushdil Shah.
The Pakistani team will leave for New Zealand on March 12, and the five-match T20I series will start on March 16. Besides the T20Is, Pakistan will also feature in three ODIs, and the tour will last until April 5. Meanwhile, there are reports that some of the senior players are considering a break from international cricket after their dismal performances in the Champions Trophy.
Major players like Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Babar Azam are said to be in the discussion in the selection meetings with some thinking of pulling out from the tour to prevent themselves from being dropped.

“Suryakumar Yadav Named India’s New T20I Captain, Leading the Team for Sri Lanka Series”.Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as India’s new T20I captain, succeeding Hardik Pandya, who served as vice-captain during the team’s victorious 2024 T20 World Cup campaign in the USA and West Indies this June.

Suryakumar’s inaugural challenge will be the upcoming three T20Is against Sri Lanka on June 27, 28, and 30. This series marks the debut coaching stint of India’s new coach Gautam Gambhir and is viewed as the initial phase in preparing for the 2026 T20 World Cup, hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka. While Hardik remains a part of the T20I squad, Shubman Gill has been appointed as vice-captain.

Gill took charge of India during the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe following the T20 World Cup.The decision to appoint a new captain arose after Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is following the World Cup victory.

Despite Hardik serving as Rohit’s deputy during the World Cup and boasting extensive captaincy experience – having led India in three ODIs and 16 T20Is, in addition to leading Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians in the IPL – concerns over fitness and workload management likely influenced the selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar.

SEE ALSO:India’s ODI squad for Sri Lanka: Shubman Gill announced VC, Shreyas back in team

Hardik had endured an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup in October-November, sidelining him until the beginning of IPL 2024, where he returned to captain Mumbai Indians. Consequently, Hardik has featured in only 46 of India’s 79 T20Is since the start of 2022.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar has previously captained the Mumbai state team in domestic competitions. Recently, he led India to a 4-1 victory over Australia in a T20I series last November, followed by a 1-1 draw in South Africa.

India’s T20I Squad for Sri Lanka tour: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that Wanindu Hasaranga, who became the T20I captain earlier this year, has stepped down less than seven months into his role.

This decision follows a poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, where Sri Lanka failed to advance to the Super 8s, winning only one match. Under Hasaranga’s leadership, they were eliminated in the group stages after a heavy loss to South Africa and a narrow defeat to Bangladesh.

Hasaranga steps down as T20I captain

“Sri Lanka Cricket wants to inform the public that Wanindu Hasaranga has resigned as the National Men’s T20I captain,” SLC said in a statement.

“Hasaranga believes stepping down is in the best interest of Sri Lanka cricket. He will continue to play for the team,” the statement added.

In his own statement, Hasaranga said, “I will always give my best for Sri Lanka as a player and will continue to support my team and its leadership.”

Hasaranga, took over from Dasun Shanaka at the beginning of the year and led the team to series wins against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. However, after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, he decided to resign after just 10 games.

Sri Lanka has not yet named Hasaranga’s replacement.