ISLAMABAD – The National Junior Selection Committee has named anexperienced 15-player Pakistan squad for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup2020, which will be held in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February.
In-form wicketkeeper-batsman Rohail Nazir has been retained as captain,while prolific opener Haider Ali has been appointed as vice-captain.
Pakistan, the 2004 and 2006 champions and three-time runners-up, are placedin Group C of the 16-team event and will play Scotland in their openingmatch on 19 January in Potchefstroom.
Pakistan’s second match will be against Zimbabwe at the Witrand Oval inBloemfontein on Wednesday, 22 January, while their third and final groupmatch will be on 24 January at the JP Marks Oval against Bangladesh.
Read Top Stories
The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the SuperLeague, while the remaining teams will feature in the Plate Championship. TheSuper League stage will commence from Tuesday, 28 January and the top foursides will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners competing for thetitle on Sunday, 9 February, in Benoni.Squad
– *Openers* – Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Quetta), Haider Ali (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Shehzad (Multan) – *Middle-order batsmen* – Mohammad Haris (Peshawar), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot) and Mohammad Irfan Khan (Lahore) – *Wicketkeeper* – Rohail Nazir (captain) – *All-rounders* – Abbas Afridi (Peshawar), Fahad Munir (Lahore) and Qasim Akram (Faisalabad) – *Spinners* – Amir Ali (Larkana) and Arish Ali Khan (Karachi) – *Fast bowlers* – Amir Khan (Peshawar), Naseem Shah (Lahore) and Tahir Hussain (Multan) – *Team management* – Ijaz Ahmed (head coach-cum-manager), Rao Iftikhar Anjum (bowling coach), Abdul Majeed (assistant coach), Saboor Ahmad (trainer), Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rasul (physiotherapist), Usman Hashmi (analyst), Emmad Ahmed Hameed (media manager) and Col (retd) Usman Riffat Ansari (security manager). –
