LAHORE – Pakistan on Friday announced the squads for the upcoming tours ofEngland and the West Indies.
According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board, HarisSohail and Imad Wasim have been recalled to the ODI and T20I squads whilethe uncapped Azam Khan has been included for the T20Is.
Other notable recalls to the squad include Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shahfor the Test squad.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in England from July 8-20,before taking on world champions West Indies in five T20Is, followed by twoTest matches.
Yasir Shah’s inclusion is subject to fitness as the wrist spinner is yet tofully recover from the knee injury that sidelined him from the ZimbabweTests. The selectors have retained leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood along withleft-arm spinner Nauman Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan for the JamaicaTests.
Uncapped Saud Shakeel has also reclaimed his spot after missing the SouthAfrica ODIs due to an injury. Salman Ali Agha, who has lost his Test spot,has been called-up for the ODIs.
Fakhar Zaman has maintained his place in the original squad after beingdrafted as an additional player for the Zimbabwe T20Is, following a stellarperformance in South Africa.Squads:
*ODIs:* Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain)(Northern), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (CentralPunjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haider Ali (Northern), HarisRauf (Northern), Haris Sohail (Balochistan), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab),Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz(Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Salman AliAgha (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper) (Sindh), Saud Shakeel(Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Usman Qadir (CentralPunjab).
*T20Is:* Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain)(Northern), Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Azam Khan (Sindh), FaheemAshraf (Central Punjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haider Ali(Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imad Wasim(Northern), Mohammad Hafeez (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh),Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper) (KhyberPakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed(wicketkeeper) (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), SharjeelKhan (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab).
Read Top Stories
*Tests:* Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper) (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique(Central Punjab), Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab),Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Haris Rauf (Northern),Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imran Butt (Balochistan), Mohammad Abbas(Southern Punjab), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Naseem Shah (Central Punjab),Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed(wicketkeeper) (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (KhyberPakhtunkhwa), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh), Yasir Shah (Balochistan, subject tofitness) and Zahid Mahmood (Southern Punjab).
Chief selector Muhammad Wasim said the management had decided to remainconsistent in its selection and include the players who have formed thecore of the team during the last few series.
“This is an extremely important and critical tour for Pakistan as we willbe playing the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs againstEngland as well as the T20Is against England and the West Indies as part ofour preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” he said, adding that theJamaica Test will be included in the ICC World Test Championship.
“As such, keeping in view the above and in consultation with captain BabarAzam and head Misbah-ul-Haq, we have tried our best to maintain the winningcombinations but at the same time recalled four experienced players andrewarded uncapped Azam Khan for his domestic performance, while also givinghim the required confidence for the future challenges,” he added.
“Mohammad Abbas has regained his form, Naseem Shah and Haris Sohail havereclaimed the required fitness standards, while Imad Wasim has beenrecalled considering the T20 World Cup is likely to be held in the UAE andhe enjoys an excellent record there.
“The return of these four players meant we had to leave some players, whichis never an easy decision. But we have collectively opted for what was inthe best interest of the side, taking into consideration the opponents andthe requirement of the formats on the upcoming tours.
“The players who have missed on selection will remain part of our strategy,and, as such, they will continue to work on their technical game at theNational High Performance Centre under the watchful eyes of Mohammad Yousufand Saqlain Mushtaq,” he said.
