BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AP) — Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the first Twenty20 against Zimbabwe on Sunday.

Pakistan have rested all their frontline white-ball players – including captain Mohammad Rizwan – for the three-match series to test their bench strength. Salman Ali Agha will lead the side, whose most experienced T20 player is fast bowler Haris Rauf.

Rauf needs another wicket to become Pakistan’s leading T20 bowler and surpass leg-spinner Shadab Khan’s tally of 107 wickets.

Opening batsman 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 previous one-day series against Zimbabwe, which Pakistan won 2-1.

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

Zimbabwe, led by Sikandar Raza, have recalled Wellington Masakadza and Ryan Burl for the Twenty20 series after both missed the ODI series.

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Lineups:

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.

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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket