Senior players Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have returned to the Pakistan team for the T20I series against Australia this month, as national selectors on Friday announced the 16-member squad.
The duo were left out of the squad for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this month, where all-rounder Shadab Khan made his comeback.
He will form part of a strong spin-bowling contingent along with Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and Usman Tariq, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement today.
The matches will take place at Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium on January 29, 31 and February 1 and will begin at 4pm PKT.
Pakistan squad and player support personnel are expected to convene in Lahore on Jan 24 and will begin their preparations for the series the following day, PCB said today.
Meanwhile, Australia is set to arrive in Pakistan on January 28 and will play just their second series in the format on Pakistani soil after a solitary T20I in April 2022, also at Gaddafi Stadium.
16-member squad:
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq
Player support personnel:
Naveed Akram Cheema (team manager), Mike Hesson (head coach), Ashley Noffke (bowling coach), Shane McDermott (fielding coach), Hanif Malik (batting coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Grant Luden (strength and conditioning coach), Talha Ejaz (performance analyst), Syed Naeem Ahmed (media manager), Lt. Col. (r) Usman Anwari (security manager), Dr Wajid Ali Rafai (team doctor), Dr Raheel Karim (psychiatrist) and Muhammad Ehsan (masseur)
Series schedule: (All matches at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore)
1st T20I – Thursday, 29 January – 4pm PKT
2nd T20I – Saturday, 31 January – 4pm PKT
3rd T20I – Sunday, 1 February – 4pm PKT
More to follow
