Pakistan Announce 12-Man Squad For Their World Cup-Opener

Pakistan have announced their 12-man squad for their first World Cup game, scheduled to be played against West Indies on Friday. The Men in Green have dropped veteran batsman Shoaib Malik and young pacers Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain from their squads. Malik has not been in good form at the moment and paid the price for it.

The former Pakistan skipper has not scored a fifty in his last five innings. On the other hand, Shaheen has also failed to impress. During the England series, he had managed just 1 wicket from his first two games. He picked up four in the third game but conceded 82 runs as England blanked Pakistan 4-0. In the warm-up game too, he failed to deliver and went wicketless for 51 against Afghanistan.

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Highly-rated Hasnain has not looked sharped either and Pakistan have banked on experienced duo of Mohammad Amir and and Wahab Riaz. Hasan Ali is also in the 12-man squad. In the spin department, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim will have the responsibility.

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has announced that Amir is fit and available for selection. There was speculation that the 27-year-old, who missed the last four matches of the series against England earlier this month, might not be able to make his World Cup debut at Trent Bridge.

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“Amir is fully fit and available for selection for tomorrow’s game,” Sarfaraz said in his pre-match press conference.

Sarfraz is also hopeful of a good display from his side. The reigning Champions Trophy holders have lost their last 10 ODIs and also lost to Afghanistan in the warm-up game.

“Yes, we have lost 10 matches but we have to forget that and start the World Cup journey,” he said.

Pakistan’s 12-man squad:

Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz.