Hafeez opts out of Bangladesh tour, Iftikhar likely to replace him

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has decided to opt out of upcoming Bangladesh tour, in order to leave a spot open for a youngster in the side.

According to sources, all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed is likely to replace him in the Pakistan squad.

The Pakistan men’s national cricket team will travel to Bangladesh after five years to play the hosts in three T20 Internationals and two ICC World Test Championship matches after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

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The national side’s tour is part of the Future Tours Programme and will commence with the T20I series, which will be staged at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, on 19 November. The second and third T20Is will be played on 20 and 22 November.

The two teams will then travel to Chattogram for the first of the two Tests at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium from 26-30 November. This match will see the two sides face-off in the apex form of the game on Bangladeshi soil for the first time since May 2015, when Pakistan won the two-match series by completing a win in the final Test by a mammoth 328 runs.

The two teams will return to Dhaka to play the final Test, which will start from 4 December.