Pakistan is arriving in Bangladesh for the T20 series without Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
After whitewashing Bangladesh at home, Pakistan has made several changes to the squad. Once again, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan won’t feature in the T20 side, and Shaheen Shah Afridi has also not returned.
On Tuesday, Pakistan announced a 15-member squad for the three-match T20 series in Bangladesh. Two pacers, Ahmed Daniyal and Salman Mirza, have been called up to the national team for the first time.
Before facing Bangladesh last month, Pakistan had made eight changes; for this upcoming series, there are six changes to the squad.
Most of these changes, however, were forced. Three pacers—Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Wasim Jr.—along with leg-spinning allrounder Shadab Khan are all sidelined with injuries.
Hasan Ali, busy with the County Championship in England, has been left out, and middle-order batsman Mohammad Irfan Khan, who did not get a game in the last series, has also been excluded.
Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Nawaz, and Sufiyan Muqeem return to the squad led by Salman Ali Aga.
Babar Azam and Rizwan have been out of the T20 side since the South Africa tour last year. Left-arm pacer Afridi was dropped from the home series against Bangladesh last month, and none of these three have been recalled.
Salman, who is playing for the title-winning Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, took nine wickets in four matches. Overall, the 31-year-old pacer has 39 wickets from 23 T20 games.
Daniyal’s domestic T20 record is less impressive. Playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, he took six wickets in four matches. The 28-year-old pacer has 36 wickets from 37 T20 matches in his career.
Last month, Pakistan dominated Bangladesh with a comprehensive 3-0 series win at home. This return series is not part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) but was arranged through mutual agreement between the two cricket boards.
Pakistan will arrive in Bangladesh on July 16 for the 10-day tour. On the same day, Bangladesh will play their final T20 match of the ongoing Sri Lanka tour. Liton Kumar Das and Mehedi Hasan Miraz will return home the next day.
The three-match series will take place at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, with matches on July 20, 22, and 24, all starting at 6 pm.
Pakistan squad
Salman Ali Aga (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Saif Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem.
