PCB announces 17-member squad for England T20Is

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the 17-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against England.

As per details, batsman Babar Azam will lead the side in the three-match series scheduled to be played from August 28 in Manchester.

Youngster Haider Ali has been included for the first time in the national squad after his impressive performances in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) fifth edition for franchise Peshawar Zalmi.

The team will comprise of veteran all-rounder’s Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez whereas left-arm pacers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir are also included in the squad. Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has also been included in the T20I squad as a backup wicketkeeper.

Pakistan squad:

Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz.

پاکستان نے انگلینڈ کے خلاف 3 ٹی ٹونٹی میچوں پر مشتمل سیریز کے لیے 17 کھلاڑیوں کو شارٹ لسٹ کرلیا ہے۔ دونوں ٹیموں کے مابین سیریز کے میچز 28 اور 30 اگست کے علاوہ یکم ستمبر کو اولڈ ٹریفورڈ مانچسٹر میں کھیلے جائیں گے https://t.co/YgR3bl4onF

— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) August 21, 2020

Pakistan Head Coach and Chief Selector Misbah-ul-Haq said: “This is mostly the same team which has been featuring in the shortest format for us. Besides retaining the core, we have inducted youngsters like Haider Ali, who has performed well in the HBL PSL, U19 and first-class cricket”.

He further said, “Usually, the T20I team comes together for a brief period but due to the current situation most of the players have been here with us for more than a month and it has provided us a good opportunity to work on the development of the team and the young players”.