Pakistan cricket selectors on Thursday announced the T20I and ODI squads for the home series against the West Indies, which will be played in Karachi from 13-22 December. The 20-over matches will count towards the ICC T20I Rankings, while the 50-over games will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
From the 18 players who were part of the recently-concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Shoaib Malik have been left out, while fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been added to the 15-man squad. Likewise, from the 17 players who were available for selection for the England ODIs in July, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, and Mohammad Wasim Jnr have replaced Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha, and Sarfaraz Ahmed in the 17-member side, while Abdullah Shafique has been named as a traveling reserve.
Chief selector Muhammad Wasim: “As we have been playing T20Is since October and now have a pretty settled and balanced side, we have decided to reduce the number of players to 15. As such, we have not included Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Shoaib Malik.
“For the ODIs, which we last played in July, we have accepted the team management’s request and provided them two additional resources. “In consultation with Hasan Ali and taking into consideration that he has been playing non-stop cricket since returning from a back injury, we have decided to give him time off from this series.”
T20Is: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
ODIs: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Hasnain, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
Traveling reserve: Abdullah Shafique
