Pakistan Name 12-Man Squad For 1st T20I Against Bangladesh

Pakistan have announced a 12-man squad for the first T20I of the 3-match against Bangladesh, which will take place at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, starting Friday.

Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Wasim Jnr have been included in the 12-man squd, which was trimmed down from the 18-player squad.

17 of the 18 players in the squad were part of the T20 World Cup contingent, with all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez opting out of the series to “allow youngsters opportunities to perform and gain international exposure.”

Asif Ali has also not been included in the 12-man squad for the first T20I. Hence, both Haider and Khushdil look likely to play with Hafeez and Asif missing, while there may be a toss-up between Nawaz and Wasim Jnr.

Saqlain Mushtaq will continue as the head coach on an interim basis, with new full-time coaching staff yet to be finalised.

Mathew Hayden’s short-term stint as batting coach ended after the T20 World Cup semi-final exit, while Vernon Philander has extended his stay for the three T20Is and the first Test in Bangladesh.

The three-match T20I series will be followed by two Tests in Chattogram (November 26-30) and Dhaka (December 4-8).

Babar Azam’s team suffered a heartbreaking loss in the semi-final to Australia. They had emerged as the tournament favourites after defeating India and New Zealand and strengthened their claim with a clean five-win record in the Super 12. But lost out to a rampant 81-run partnership between Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh, on the other, lost all their five Super 12 matches after they had managed to win 2 out of 3 games in the qualifying Round 1. Therefore, Mahmudullah’s side have plenty of work to do when they play outside home conditions.

Pakistan’s 12-man squad for 1st T20I against Bangladesh:

Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.

Bangladesh’s squad:

Mahmudullah (captain), Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Saif Hassan, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Shohidul Islam, Akbar Ali

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