Pakistan announce 17-man squad for T20I series against England
Pakistan have announced a 17-man shortlist for the three-match T20I series against England. The two sides will play three T20Is at Old Trafford in Manchester from August 28 to September 1.
With a 29-man squad already in England, Pakistan have selected 17 players to stay back for the T20I series.
The T20I squad includes Pakistan U19 star Haider Ali, who performed well in Pakistan's domestic competitions as well as in the Pakistan Super League. The experienced pace duo of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have also made it back to the Pakistan squad. Naseem Shah from the Test team has also been given a chance to prove himself in the shortest format.
Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said in a press release:
“This is mostly the same team that has been featuring in the shortest format for us. Besides retaining the core, we have inducted youngsters like Haider Ali, who has performed well in the HBL PSL, U19 and first-class cricket, and Naseem Shah as we had an opportunity to keep a bigger pool due to Covid-19 pandemic, which also increases our options."
He added:
"Our two experienced bowlers in Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have also returned to the side, along with Fakhar Zaman and Sarfaraz Ahmed."
Pakistan's series against England is going to be a competitive one: Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq believes that although the T20I squad would normally have joined at the end of the Test series, the COVID-19 pandemic ensured that the whole squad was in the country from the start. However, he feels that this is good from the team's point of view as they will get to adapt to the conditions relatively early:
“Usually, the T20I team comes together for a brief period but due to the current situation most of the players have been here with us for more than a month and it has provided us a good opportunity to work on the development of the team and the young players."
"So, even the players who might not get an opportunity to play will benefit from the experience they are getting here. It is going to be a competitive series as England are a strong side. We are looking forward to play good cricket and win the series.”
Pakistan squad:
Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz.