Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq announced the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup and Afghanistan series.
Babar Azam will lead the 17-member side and Shadab Khan will be his deputy in the Afghanistan series which will be played ahead of the Asia Cup.
Saud Shakeel got a call back in the ODI format. He will be available for selection only in the Afghanistan series. Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf was also included in the squad for the Afghanistan series.
Faheem returns to the side after two years and further adds to the balance of the time as a fast-bowling all-rounder. His last appearance in the format was during Pakistan’s three-match away series against England in July 2021.
“Preference has been given to Faheem Ashraf, since the squad doesn’t have another allrounder,” Inzamam said at a press conference after announcing the squad.
“If you look at PSL and other tournaments, we need an allrounder, he is a fast-bowling allrounder, which we need at the World Cup,” he said.
Shan Masood, who was appointed vice-captain in the absence of Shadab Khan earlier this year, has been dropped from the team.
“Shan has performed very well. Unfortunately, his performances have gone down. We have a list of 20-21 players, and Shan is part of that. But Saud Shakeel and a couple of other players were impressive recently, so we have to leave out Shan. But he is a part of our plans,” he added.
Pakistan will begin their Asia Cup campaign on 30 August with a match against Nepal at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Squad:
Babar Azam (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir and Saud Shakeel (only for Afghanistan series), Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq.
