The Pakistani cricket team has announced its squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan
Earlier today, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the fifteen-member squad which will play three T20I matches against Afghanistan in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The squad will be led by Shadab Khan, who will replace Babar Azam as captain, who has been rested for the series.
The squad comprises of 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, and Zaman Khan. The reserves include Haseebullah, Usama Mir, and Abrar Ahmed.
Najam Sethi, Chairman of the PCB Management Committee, informed Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, and Fakhar Zaman on Sunday that they will be rested during the week. Haris Rauf has also been rested to manage his workload. Since the board is concerned about the workload of players, and thus, keeping the future in mind, especially the T20 World Cup, in 2024, this decision is considered to be an important one.
The appointment of Mohammad Yousuf as the interim head coach and batting coach of the team
As part of the board’s commitment to continuity, Mohammad Yousuf has also been appointed interim head coach and batting coach for the Sharjah tour. Yousuf has been with the national side since last year as a batting coach, and he has also been working in the National High Performance Center.
According to Najam Sethi, Shadab Khan has been appointed the captain of the Pakistan team for the series against Afghanistan, and congratulated him on his appointment as the captain. As he stated, “Shadab Khan has been the Pakistani vice-captain for the past couple of years in white-ball cricket, so it is only natural that he assumes the role in Sharjah for the three short T20I matches that will take place during the short tour.”
The schedule for the T20I series is as follows:
There was a slight change in the itinerary of Afghanistan’s three-match T20I series against Pakistan last week after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and PCB came to an agreement. In order to start off the series on March 24, the series has been pushed back by one day. The last two games will take place in Sharjah, UAE, on March 26 and 27.
A few final thoughts
It is evident from the announcement of the squad and the appointment of the interim head and batting coach that the PCB takes the workload of the players seriously. It will be important for players to be managed appropriately in order to avoid injuries and burnout in the T20 World Cup in 2024. There will be an excellent opportunity for Shadab Khan, who has been an integral part of the Pakistan cricket team, to showcase his leadership skills and lead his team to victory. In the upcoming series against Afghanistan, it will be interesting to see how the team performs in terms of its performance.