Pakistan name squads for West Indies series and U19 Cricket World Cup

For the T20Is, Pakistan Cricket Board has picked a 15-man squad similar to one that played in the recently-concluded T20I series against Bangladesh barring Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, who all have been left out. Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been added to the T20I mix.

"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," said Pakistan Chief selector Muhammad Wasim.

“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,” he added.

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-man squad for the ODI series. Abdullah Shafique has been named as a travelling reserve.

Babar Azam will lead Pakistan against West Indies and Shadab Khan will continue as his vice-captain.

**T20I squad:**Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.

**ODI squad:**Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Hasnain, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.

Travelling reserve: Abdullah Shafique.

Pakistan have also named their side for the upcoming U19 Asia Cup and the ICC Men's U19 Cricket World Cup. Lahore-born Qasim Akram has been named the captain of the side. PCB has named a 15-player squad for the ICC U19 CWC which will be played in January-February 2022 in the West Indies.

Skipper Qasim, openers Abdul Wahid Bangalzai and Mohammad Shehzad, and middle-order batter Irfan Khan Niazi will be making their second U19 CWC appearance having played in the previous edition in South Africa, where Pakistan finished third.

Qasim was impressive for Central Punjab in all three formats in the 2020-21 domestic season, Wahid made a notable double-century for Balochistan in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and he also put up impressive performances in the National T20.

Irfan represented Central Punjab in the National T20 and he was impressive with the ball, while Shehzad earned a reputation of being one of the most prolific batters in the 2021-22 U19 One-Day matches and three-day events.

**U19 Squad:**Qasim Akram (c), Abdul Faseeh, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Ahmed Khan,Ali Asfand, Arham Nawab, Awais Ali, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah, Irfan Khan Niazi, Maaz Sadaqat, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Shehzad, Rizwan Mehmood, Zeeshan Zameer.

Travelling reserves: Ghazi Ghori (wk), Mohammad Zeeshan.