Pakistan rest Babar Azam for T20I series against Afghanistan, Shadab Khan named captain

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a new-look squad for their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, starting on March 24. Sharjah will be hosting all three games. With Babar Azam among the many players rested, Shadab Khan will captain the Men in Green in the three-match series.

The new-look 15-player squad has four uncapped players in Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir and Zaman Khan. The selectors have also recalled Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim.

Ayub has had a promising run in the ongoing Pakistan Super League season (PSL 2023), scoring 309 runs in ten games at 30.90, striking at 167.02. Meanwhile, Ihsanullah is the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, snaring 20 scalps in ten matches at 14.60.

Addressing the appointment of Shadab as captain, PCB chief Najam Sethi said that he was the logical choice to take charge in Babar's absence. He also announced Mohammad Yousuf as the batting coach for the series.

As quoted by the official website, Sethi said:

"I want to congratulate Shadab Khan on his appointment as the Pakistan team captain for the series against Afghanistan. Shadab Khan has been the Pakistan vice-captain in white-ball cricket for the past couple of years and it is logical that he takes over the side in the absence of Babar Azam for the short three-match T20I tour of Sharjah.

"For the short Sharjah tour and to ensure continuity, we have also appointed Mohammad Yousuf as the interim head and batting coach. Yousuf has been with the national side since last year as a batting coach and has also been working in the National High Performance Centre."

Chief of Pakistan's selection committee Haroon Rashid stated that they have selected players keeping in mind their performances in the domestic competitions. They also have an eye on the next T20 World Cup.

"For the short three-T20I series against Afghanistan, the selection committee has followed the standard rotation policy by resting the leading performers and providing high-performing domestic performers with opportunities to demonstrate their talent and potential at the international level.

"This will also allow us to test the temperament and abilities of these players and helping us to strengthen our pool of players as we look forward to building and preparing a formidable side for next year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States."

The most notable recall is that of Azam Khan, who has hammered 280 runs in nine PSL 2023 matches at 46.66 with a strike rate of 162.79.

The players rested apart from Babar are Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Meanwhile, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Khushdil Shah have been dropped. The quartet were part of Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2022 squad in Australia.

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Pakistan 15-man T20I squad to face Afghanistan

Shadab Khan (c), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan.