Mumbai, Jan 3 Pakistan's senior national selectors have picked former captain Babar Azam, pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, and spinner Shadab Khan, but left out former captain and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, in a preliminary 20-player squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has submitted the preliminary squad of 20 to the International Cricket Council (ICC), which will be cut to 15 by head coach Mike Hesson in a few days, a news report claimed on Saturday.
“The PCB has submitted the preliminary squad of 20 before the January 7 deadline, and as per Hesson’s contract, he will cut it to 20,” sources told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net).
Though most of the participating nations have publicly announced their squads for the T20 World Cup, which will be organised jointly by India and Sri Lanka from February 7.
All 20 teams can change their squad until January 31, after which a committee is entitled to allow any replacements.
The tenth edition of the Twenty20 international will be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. Pakistan will play all its matches in Sri Lanka under a formula approved last year after the BCCI refused to send the team to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Sources told www.telecomasia.net that former captain Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shadab Khan are in the squad, but there is no place for former captain and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.
“Hesson feels Usman Khan will be the right choice as keeper and hence there is no place for Rizwan, while Shaheen is expected to recover from a knee injury within the next two weeks,” the report quoted sources as saying.
One of the things that has gone in favour of Babar is his good recent form. The former Pakistan captain has hit two fifties for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League (BBL), which has impressed selectors to include him in the squad. Interestingly, Shaheen Shah Afridi has been shortlisted despite the injury he suffered while playing in the BBL.
The report said that Pakistan have five spinners in the squad with Shadab, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, and Maaz Sadaqat. There is no place for spinner Sufiyan Muqeem and pacer Ahmed Danyal, despite both showing promise at the international level with the senior team and Pakistan Shaheen.
PCB’s selection committee was reduced to three members after Azhar Ali resigned from all his posts last. The committee includes Aqib Javed, Aameen Dar, and Asad, with all members having equal rights and no chief selector.
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