Pakistan has called up left-back Shan Masood for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Masoud, 32, will replace Fakhar Zaman, who will be in reserve only after suffering a knee injury. The 15-man squad will witness the return of peace star Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed the Asian Cup due to a knee injury, but is undergoing rehabilitation and is expected to return to bowling fitness early next month.
He also returned to the team, Al-Khayat Mohamed Waseem, who recovered from the stress of the side that kept him from the Asian Cup. Hassan Ali and Shahnawaz Dahani, who competed in that tournament, lost.
The biggest talking point in the selection was the inclusion of Massoud, who had never before been seen in this form at the international level. The left-handed enjoyed a successful 2022 PSL campaign for the Multan Sultans, collecting 478 rounds from 12 rounds with a strike rate of 138.15. Most recently, Masoud has racked up 204 runs in eight rounds with an hitting average of 129.93 in the T20 National Cup. More importantly, these operations came in the middle order, which is a current problem for Pakistan.
T20 World Cup squad:
Babar Azam (c), Shadib Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Hassanein, Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Waseem, Nasim Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masoud, Osman able
Mobile Reserve: Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Haris and Shahnawaz Dahani.
The rest of the team is similar to the one that appeared in the Asian Cup. Pakistan will play a seven-match T20I series at home against England, then play a three-way series in New Zealand featuring the host country and Bangladesh before arriving in Australia for the dark event. The 2009 champions are placed in Group B and will begin their quest for a second title against India on October 24 in Melbourne.
“We have a team that can perform strongly in the 2022 FIFA Men’s T20 World Cup. That is why we have shown faith and confidence in almost the same group of players who participated in the T20I team after the 2021 FIFA World Cup in the UAE,” Chief Specialist Mohamed Waseem said. These guys have been doing really well since November 2021 and that’s why we’ve won nine of the last 13 players in T20I. We have invested in these cricketers and it is only fair for them that they get a chance to show their strength at the World Cup, an event for which they have been preparing and training hard.
“We needed to ensure continuity and support for these players, and that’s exactly what we did. We are receiving encouraging reports about Shaheen Shah Afridi, who will likely resume bowling early next month.”
Amer Jamal and Abrar Ahmed selected for England T20Is
Pakistan has chosen multi-level player Aamir Jamal and enigmatic crossover Abrar Ahmed for the upcoming series at home against England. They will fill the injured duo Zaman and Afridi with the selection of the remaining players heading to the World Cup (including the reserves). The first match of the seven-match series will be held on September 20 in Karachi.
Pakistan’s 18-man England T20Is squad:
Babar Azam (c), Shaddad Khan (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Raouf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Haris, Muhammad Hassanein, Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Waseem Jr., Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masoud and Usman Qadir