Shaheen back in Pakistan squad for white-ball series against New Zealand
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday announced the Twenty20 International (T20I) and One-Day International (ODI) squads for the home series against West Indies, set to commence on April 14, with pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi set to return to international cricket after a gap of four months.
In a press release, the cricketing board said that Shaheen had missed five Tests and three ODIs after the T20 World Cup in November last year as he was completing rehabilitation for a knee injury he had sustained in July.
The PCB noted that Shaheen had “staged a remarkable comeback” in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League, leading his team Lahore Qalanders to become the first side to successfully defend the title.
“Apart from Shaheen, also returning to both squads are skipper Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Rizwan. All these players had rested for last month’s T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah,” the cricketing board said.
This means Babar will resume his normal services as captain in the ODI and T20I series against New Zealand, while Shadab will return to his original position as vice captain, the PCB said.
“Three young guns — Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, and Zaman Khan — have been retained in the T20I squad following stellar performances in Sharjah, while Ihsanullah has also been added to the ODI squad for the first time in his career,” the statement added.
The squad will assemble in Lahore on April 6 while the training camp will commence the next day (April 7).
Squads
T20I: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Zaman Khan
ODI: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Usama Mir.
Reserves: Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, and Tayyab Tahir
Series schedule
- 14 April — 1st T20I, Lahore
- 15 April — 2nd T20I, Lahore
- 17 April — 3rd T20I, Lahore
- 20 April — 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
- 24 April — 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
- 27 April — 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
- 29 April — 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi
- 3 May — 3rd ODI, Karachi
- 5 May — 4th ODI, Karachi
- 7 May — 5th ODI, Karachi