In a bold decision, Pakistan Cricket Board has rested all of their reputed and experienced players for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. Captain Babar Azam will not be playing along with Shaheen Shah Afridi and run machine Mohammad Rizwan. Veteran batter Fakhar Zaman and Haris Rauf are also excluded from the Pakistan squad for the series against Afghanistan which will be led by all-rounder Shadab Khan.
PCB management committee Najam Sethi said, “I have spoken to Babar, Rizwan, Haris, Shaheen and Fakhar and taken them into confidence about the fact that we are using this series as a testing ground to try out new players and recall some of those who have performed well in the PSL (Pakistan Super League).”
Adding to this Sethi added, “Their places are confirmed in the team and we have given them genuine rest. There is no threat to our established captain, he remains captain of the national squad. The day he says I want to leave captaincy of one or more formats, that will be his decision. He is our top star and I am happy he has supported our initiative.”
“It is a tour to groom and assess our talent properly,” Sethi added.
“No one asked us. Let me tell you, Shaheen (Afridi) was never under consideration for captaincy for this series. It is Shadab's right to lead the team,” he said.
Chief Selector Haroon Rasheed said that they need to Test new players and they are doing so against Afghanistan.
“Like other countries including India and England, we have to now start workload management for our players to give chance to our new players and those who perform well in domestic cricket,” he said.
Pakistan squad: Shadab Khan (C), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Muhammad Haris, Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Wasim jr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan.
Reserve players: Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah Khan and Osama Mir.
