The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the squads for West Indies tour to Pakistan. Pacer Hassan Ali has been given a rest and wicket keeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed has been dropped from the squad.
Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim have been dropped from Pakistan’s T20I squad along with Sarfaraz.
Sarfaraz, who was a late inclusion in Pakistan’s 2021 T20 World Cup squad, didn’t play in the tournament but got a chance in Pakistan’s previous series against Bangladesh, where he scored six. For more than two years, he has rarely found an opportunity to play in the eleven.
Similarly, Shoaib Malik, who played some handy knocks in the middle order for the team in the recently-concluded World Cup, was dismissed for a duck in the only batting opportunity in Bangladesh.
“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,” chief selector Muhammad Wasim said.
“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,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hassan has also been rested for the ODI series, while Sarfaraz has not found favour in the 50-over setup either. Along with the duo, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and Salman Ali, who were a part of the side that played in England, have been dropped. In turn, the selectors have included Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jr for the three ODIs against West Indies, which will be a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
T20I Squad: Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan (VC), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (Wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.
The Windies will be landing in Pakistan on December 9, while the series is set to be starting from December 13.
