Tag: Pakistan squad for Afghanistan T20Is

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee Najam Sethi on Monday, clarified the national team’s selectors’ decision of resting key players for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.

The chairman of the PCB management committee Sethi, who held a press conference alongside chief selector Haroon Rasheed at Gaddafi Stadium here, refuted the rumours surfacing regarding a change in the team’s leadership and categorically stated that Babar will remain the national team’s all-format captain as long as he is willing to keep the role.

“There is no threat to our established captain Babar Azam. He remains the national captain of our Pakistan squad,” clarified Sethi.

“Whenever Babar tells me that he wants to relinquish the role in one format or in all formats, it is going to be his decision. I respect him a lot. He’s our top star and I’m glad that he supported our initiative,” he maintained.

Sethi then disclosed that he took all key players – Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Haris Rauf – in confidence before finalizing the squad and there is no threat to their place in the national team.

“I have discussed the matter with Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen and Fakhar and we are resting them. And all of them are happy. No problem,” stated Sethi.

“So, whoever is being rested, is on board. Their place is confirmed in the national team. There is no threat to them. They are our assets and they are genuinely being rested,” he added.

“We thought that some of our players were dealing with minor niggles and should rest. Also, some of our in-form and senior players, who played a lot of cricket in the last two years still have a hectic schedule ahead of them. So, we decided to rest those senior players as well in order to help them recover or avoid injuries,” he reasoned.

It is worth mentioning that chief selector Haroon named a fresh-look 15-member squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan under the leadership of all-rounder Shadab Khan.

Shadab will lead the side that includes four uncapped players – Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir and Zaman Khan – while Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim have been recalled.

READ: PCB names new captain, fresh-look squad for Afghanistan T20Is

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday, named a new-look 15-member squad under the captaincy of Shadab Khan for the upcoming away T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.

In a bid to prepare for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and with an eye on ensuring the careers of their elite cricketers are extended by strategically managing their workloads, the Pakistan cricket selectors today named a new-look and highly-talented 15-player squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which will be played from 24 to 27 March in Sharjah.

All-rounder Shadab Khan will captain the side that includes four uncapped players, namely, Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir and Zaman Khan, while Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim have been recalled.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, along with Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been rested, while Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Khushdil Shah have been dropped. These nine players were part of the Pakistan squad that reached the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

Apart from Shadab, players retained from the last T20I series are Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah and Shan Masood.

SQUAD: Shadab Khan (c), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan.

RESERVES: Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah, Usama Mir