Pakistan vs Afghanistan: Shadab Khan ready for 'big responsibility' after captaincy appointment

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A new-look Pakistan side will be led by new captain Shadab Khan for their upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan.

The Pakistan side will be playing a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan starting March 25 at the UAE.

And Shadab Khan has been appointed as the new captain in the series as several senior players including captain Babar Azam has been rested for the assignment. Shadab, who has worked as a deputy of Babar Azam in Pakistan's limited-over games, was ecstatic after being appointed as the captain.

"I am grateful to the Almighty for this opportunity. Representing your country is an honour for any cricketer and to lead it is even a bigger honour so I am very excited and eager to take this role," Shadab said after his appointment.

"This is a big responsibility as I will be leading a nation of 220 million people and I will try my best to do justice with it with all the ability that I have," he added.

Several young players like Saim Ayub, Ihsanullah have been included in the squad after their superb performances in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, and veterans like Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim have also been recalled in the team.

"I want to congratulate all the youngsters who have gotten selected for this series. Whenever you start in any field, you want to go to the highest level and for a cricketer being selected for Pakistan is the best that they can achieve. This is a young unit and youngsters always bring a different spark and energy, and there is no doubt that this series is going to be very exciting," the new Pakistan captain added.

The series against Afghanistan will be Pakistan's first T20 assignment since their loss against England in the final of the T20I World Cup last year.