Internet Desk : Shahid Afridi was named the captain of the Pakistan squad that will participate in the upcoming Asia Cup followed by the T20 World Cup in India. Pakistan selectors have surprisingly dropped seasoned opener Ahmed Shehzad and experienced pace bowler Umar Gul from the squad for their poor form in recent times .
Batsmen Sohaib Maqsood and Muhammad Rizwan have also not been included in the 15-member squad for the two T20 events in Bangladesh and India.
The selectors, meanwhile, have inducted uncapped left arm pacer Rumman Raees and rookie allrounder Muhammad Nawaz, besides recalling Test opener Khurrum Manzoor, who has never played in a T20 international for Pakistan.
The exclusion of Shehzad, Maqsood and Rizwan — all batsmen — was expected as they had been struggling in recent matches.
The sources, in fact, said that the selectors had delayed the announcement of the squad for three days as they were uncertain about dropping Shehzad and were also considering wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal.
“There were also some issues with the fitness of tall left arm pacer Muhammad Irfan also,” a source said.
Chief selector Haroon Rasheed, in a statement, said that while picking the squad the team management and skipper Shahid Afridi were consulted.
“The T20 squad has been selected keeping in mind the conditions during Asia Cup and World T20 and the recent performances of some players in domestic and A team tours. The team is a fine blend of experience and youth and the selectors believe the team will do well in both tournaments,” Rasheed said.
Nawaz, Raees and Manzoor have all impressed in the domestic tournament and on recent Pakistan A team tours.
Nawaz, a left arm spinner and left handed batsman, has already snapped up two man of the match awards in the ongoing Pakistan Super League in Dubai.
Interestingly Nawaz, Raees, Manzoor and batsman Babar Azam, who has scored five half centuries in nine ODIs, and middle order batsman Ifthikar Ahmed have not played in a T20 international for the national team.
Pakistan squad : Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Khurram Manzoor, Rumman Raees