Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen named in Pakistan's white-ball training camp

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has called up 22 top white-ball players — including senior players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi — for a training camp ahead of the national team's next assignments, sources confirmed on Monday.

The camp will take place over three days — June 3, 4, and 5 — with players reporting in groups. During the sessions, the players’ fitness levels and recent performances will be assessed, while discussions will also take place about the team’s roadmap moving forward.

Interestingly, senior players are expected to participate in all three days of training. The camp will also include standout performers from the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 10.

Pakistan’s white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson, is also set to meet with the selected players. The New Zealander, who recently took over the role, will outline the team’s direction and expectations as they build toward future series.

Players called up for the camp:

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shahid Aziz, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Mir Hamza, Abdullah Shafique, Khawaja Nafay, Haider Ali, Ahmed Daniyal, Mehran Mumtaz, Khurram Shahzad, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Nawaz, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Ali Raza, and Tayyab Tahir.

This camp comes as Pakistan’s white-ball side begins a new era under Hesson’s leadership. The 50-year-old had a strong start, guiding the team to a 3-0 T20I series sweep over Bangladesh — their first home series win since December 2021.

After the dominant showing against Bangladesh, the team will take a short break before potentially returning to Bangladesh next month for another T20I series.