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Pakistan announce squad for WI series; Hasan rested as Asif makes comeback

Hasan Ali rested as Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, and Imad Wasim dropped

Pakistan announce squad for WI series; Hasan rested as Asif makes comeback PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan cricket selectors today announced the T20I and ODI squads for the home series against the West Indies, which will be played in Karachi from December 13 to December 22.

The 20-over matches will count towards the ICC T20I Rankings, while the 50-over games will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.

From the 18 players who were part of the recently-concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik have been left out, while fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been added to the 15-man squad.

Likewise, from the 17 players who were available for selection for the England ODIs in July, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jnr have replaced Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha and Sarfaraz Ahmed in the 17-member side, while Abdullah Shafique has been named as a traveling reserve.

Chief selector Muhammad Wasim: “As we have been playing T20Is since October and now have a pretty settled and balanced side, we have decided to reduce the number of players to 15. As such, we have not included Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik.

“For the ODIs, which we last played in July, we have accepted the team management’s request and provided them two additional resources.

“In consultation with Hasan Ali and taking into consideration that he has been playing non-stop cricket since returning from a back injury, we have decided to give him time off from this series.”

T20Is

Babar Azam (captain, Central Punjab)

Shadab Khan (vice-captain, Northern)

Asif Ali (Northern)

Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Haider Ali (Northern)

Haris Rauf (Northern)

Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab)

Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh)

Mohammad Nawaz (Northern)

Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh)

Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)

ODIs

Babar Azam (captain, Central Punjab)

Shadab Khan (vice-captain, Northern)

Asif Ali (Northern)

Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Haider Ali (Northern)

Haris Rauf (Northern)

Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan)

Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab)

Mohammad Nawaz (Northern)

Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh)

Saud Shakeel (Sindh)

Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh)

Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)

Traveling reserve: Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab)

Player Support Personnel: Mansoor Rana (manager), Saqlain Mushtaq (interim head coach), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Drikus Saaiman (strength and conditioning coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Talha Ejaz (team analyst), Col (retd) Muhammad Imran (Security Manager), Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi (media and digital manager), Dr Najeeb Soomro (team doctor) and Malang Ali (Masseur)

Series Schedule

13 Dec – 1st T20I, Karachi

14 Dec – 2nd T20I, Karachi

16 Dec – 3rd T20I, Karachi

18 Dec – 1st ODI, Karachi

20 Dec – 2nd ODI, Karachi

22 Dec – 3rd ODI, Karachi