Pakistan on Sunday announced the Salman Agha-led squad for the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7, with the veteran duo Babar Azam and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi making a return.
Having recently become the all-time leading run-getter in Men’s T20Is, Babar Azam adds rich experience to the Pakistan batting lineup, while pacer Haris Rauf, who has performed well in the ongoing Big Bash League, having taken 20 wickets in just 11 matches, has been omitted from the 15-man squad.
Skipper Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Tariq have received their maiden mega-event call-ups to the Pakistan squad. Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Usman Khan have played in at least one or more editions of the tournament since 2021.
Pakistan boasts a strong batting lineup, which includes the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, and Sahibzada Farhan. In the absence of Rauf, Pakistan have relied on Afridi and Naseem Shah in their pace unit. There is also a strong presence of all-rounders in the squad, with the likes of Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz providing multiple options with the bat and ball.
The 2009 winner are slotted in Group A alongside co-hosts and defending champions India, the Netherlands, the USA and Namibia. They will kickstart their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground.
Pakistan's squad announcement comes just a day after the PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi said a final decision on their T20 World Cup participation would be made after talking to government.
squad:
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) Usman Tariq.