Pakistan Announce Squad For 2022 T20 World Cup; Shaheen Afridi Returns

Pakistan announced the 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup on Thursday. Premier pacer Shaheen Afridi returned to the Pakistan team after missing out Asia Cup due to knee injury. The left-arm pacer was advised 4-6 weeks rest as he missed the Asia Cup and is also ruled out of the upcoming England T20Is.

The Pakistan Cricket Board didn’t make many surprising picks as they picked the squad on the lines of the Asia Cup. However, their star batter Fakhar Zaman missed out on a place in the 15-man team and has been included in the reserves.

Babar Azam will lead the Pakistan team after their impressive show in the last year’s mega ICC event where they reached the semifinals. While young Naseem Shah retained his place in the squad after impressive show with the new ball in Asia Cup.

Destructive middle-order batter Shan Masood also gets a place in the squad. While, Wasim Junior has been included after recovering completely from the side strain he suffered during the Asia Cup.

PCB chief selector Mohammad Wasim talked about the team selection and said the board put its faith in the players who have played well for them in the past year.

“We have a team that can perform strongly in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022,” chief selector Mohammad Wasim said.

“That’s why we have shown faith and confidence in almost the same set of players who have been part of the T20I squad post the 2021 World Cup in the UAE.

“These players have performed well since November 2021 and that’s why we have won nine out of our last 13 T20Is. We have invested in these cricketers and it is fair to them that they get the opportunity to show their mettle in the World Cup, an event for which they have been preparing and training hard.

“We needed to ensure continuity and support to these players, and that’s precisely what we have done. We are receiving encouraging reports about Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is likely to resume bowling early next month,” he added.

Meanwhile, the same squad will play New Zealand and Bangladesh T20Is which are a tune-up for them ahead of T20 WC.

T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir

Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani

Squad for England series: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Aamir Jamal, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir