T20 World Cup: Pakistan announces its squad; Shoaib Malik & Sarfaraz Ahmed among absentees

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced the team for the T20 World Cup which will be taking place in UAE with some big names missing the list. The 15-member Pakistan World Cup squad will also play T20 Internationals against New Zealand and England at home before taking part in the T20 World Cup.  Pakistan will first play five T20Is against New Zealand in Lahore between September 25 and October 3 before hosting England for two T20I on October 13 and 14 in Rawalpindi.

Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik dropped from the Pakistan World Cup squad

The Babar Azam-led team saw some surprise inclusions with Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah drafted into the team to provide more firepower in the middle-order. According to PCB's press release, from the 19 players who were part of the Pakistan squad for the T20I series in England and the West Indies, Arshad Iqbal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sharjeel Khan and Usman Qadir have been left out of the final 15. However, Fakhar and Usman along with Shahnawaz Dahani have been named as the three travelling reserve players.

In the wicket-keeping department, Pakistani selectors decided to back youth by including Azam Khan over Sarfaraz Ahmed. Khan has featured in only three T20Is in his career and has aggregated only six runs in two innings but his exploits in domestic T20 competitions, where he averages 22.83 at a strike rate of 149.92, have helped him seal a berth in the World Cup squad.

Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim in his statement said “While selecting the squad, we have tried to cover all our bases by catering for the modern day brand of T20 cricket that will be required to perform impressively in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This includes trusting the abilities, skills and experience of the players to perform in a high-pressure global tournament in conditions that are familiar to us, as well as looking at the teams we will play in Group-2 matches."

Pakistan's T20 World Cup schedule 

Pakistan will begin its ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign against India in Dubai on October 24. They will then face New Zealand in Sharjah on October 26 before returning to Dubai to clash with Afghanistan on October 29. Their last two matches in the Super 12 stages will see them face runners-up of Group A and table-toppers of Group B from Round 1 in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah respectively. 

Pakistan's T20 World Cup squad

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim , Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood.

Image: therealpcb - Instagram