Babar Azam is set to play his 100th T20I when PAK plays NZ.

When he plays the first T20I of the five-match series tonight in Lahore, Pakistani captain Babar Azam will become the third Pakistani to play 100 T20Is.

Today, the Green Shirts will be led by the hitter who hits with his right hand.

Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, who used to be cricket players, played more than 100 shorter format games at the international level. Hafeez retired last year after playing in 119 T20Is, while Malik has played in 124.

Babar has made 3,355 runs in 99 T20Is, which is an average of 41.41 runs per game. So far in his career, he has made 30 fifties and 200 runs. He has also been the best batsman in Twenty20 Internationals for a long time.

The most recent ICC T20I results put him at number three in the world.

During the Afghanistan T20I series, he and other top players like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Rizwan were given time off.

Pakistan’s young team, led by Shadab Khan, lost to Afghanistan 2-1 in a three-match T20I series.

Starting today, Babar will take over as captain for the T20I series against New Zealand.

Squads Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Zaman Khan

New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Will Young, Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver, Ben Lister, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Henry Shipley, Blair Tickner.