Shadab to lead as Pakistan name squad for Afghanistan T20I series

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Pakistan have announced a fifteen-member squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.

SQUAD: Shadab Khan (C), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan.

Reserves: Haseebullah, Usama Mir, Abrar Ahmed

Shadab Khan will lead the national side in place of current captain, Babar Azam, who has been rested.

PCB Management Committee chairman, Najam Sethi, contacted Babar, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi and Fakhar Zaman on Sunday and informed them that they will be given rest.

Haris Rauf has also been rested to manage his workload.

The board is concerned about the workload of players. Hence, the board considers this an important decision keeping the future in mind, especially the T20 World Cup in 2024.

Chair of PCB Management Committee, Najam Sethi:

“I want to congratulate Shadab Khan on his appointment as the Pakistan team captain for the series against Afghanistan. Shadab Khan has been the Pakistan vice-captain in white-ball cricket for the past couple of years and it is logical that he takes over the side in the absence of Babar Azam for the short three-match T20I tour of Sharjah.

“For the short Sharjah tour and to ensure continuity, we have also appointed Mohammad Yousuf as the interim head and batting coach. Yousuf has been with the national side since last year as a batting coach and has also been working in the National High Performance Centre.”

 

📢 𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 📢

Shadab Khan will lead the young guns of Pakistan against the Afghanistan team in three-match T20I series in Sharjah 🙌#PAKvAFG pic.twitter.com/El8OImpW4h

— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) March 13, 2023

 

Last week, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) jointly agreed to make slight tweaks to the itinerary of Afghanistan’s home three-match T20I series against Pakistan.

The start of the series was brought forward by a day and will now start on March 24, with the last two games to be played on March 26 and 27 in Sharjah, UAE.

Schedule

March 24: 1st T20I, Sharjah

March 26: 2nd T20I, Sharjah

March 27: 3rd T20I, Sharjah