Pakistan win toss and chose to bat in first T20 against Zimbabwe

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the first T20 against Zimbabwe on Sunday.

For the three-match series, Pakistan has rested all its frontline white-ball players, including captain Mohammad Rizwan, as the team looks to assess its bench strength. Salman Ali Agha will lead the side, with fast bowler Haris Rauf, the most experienced T20 player in the squad, included in the lineup.

Rauf is just one wicket away from becoming Pakistan's leading T20 bowler, aiming to surpass leg-spinner Shadab Khan's record of 107 wickets.

Opening batter Saim Ayub and leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed were not originally part of the T20 squad, but were retained for the series after performing well in the preceding one-day series against Zimbabwe, which Pakistan won 2-1.

“We want to give as many chances to youngsters because this series is all about youngsters,” Salman said at the toss. “We just want to put good total on the board as it (the wicket) could get slower and lower.”

Zimbabwe will be led by Sikandar Raza and has recalled Wellington Masakadza and Ryan Burl for the Twenty20 series after both missed out the ODI series.

Line-ups:

Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Saim Ayub, Omair Bin Yousuf, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeem.

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (captain), Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Ryan Burl, Dion Myers, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Trevor Gwandu.