Pakistan announce squad for home series against West Indies; Hasan Ali not included

The Pakistan selectors have announced the squads for the T20I and ODI series against West Indies which will be played from December 13 to 22.

From the 18 players who were included in Pakistan’s squad for the T20Is against Bangladesh, the selectors have left out Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik. Also, Mohammad Hasnain has been added to the 15-member squad.

Pakistan last played an ODI series in England in July. There have been quite a few changes made to the side that took on the Englishmen. Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jr. have come in as replacements for Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha and Sarfaraz Ahmed. Abdullah Shafique has been named as a traveling reserve.

West Indies' tour of Pakistan will feature three T20Is and three ODIs, with all six matches scheduled to be played in Karachi. The T20Is will be played from December 13 to December 16, while the one-dayers will be held from December 18 to 22.

Pakistan are currently on a tour of Bangladesh. They thrashed the hosts 3-0 in the T20Is and also won the first Test in Chattogram by eight wickets. The second Test of the two-match series will begin on December 4 in Dhaka.

Hasan Ali given time off: Pakistan Chief selector Muhammad Wasim

Speaking about the teams chosen for the series against West Indies, Pakistan chief selector Muhammad Wasim revealed that pacer Hasan Ali has been given some time off. Wasim said:

“In consultation with Hasan Ali and taking into consideration that he has been playing non-stop cricket since returning from a back injury, we have decided to give him time off from this series.”

He also explained why the T20I squad side has been reduced to 15. Wasim stated:

“As we have been playing T20Is since October and now have a pretty settled and balanced side, we have decided to reduce the number of players to 15. As such, we have not included Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik. For the ODIs, which we last played in July, we have accepted the team management’s request and provided them two additional resources.”

Pakistan’s T20I squad: Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

Pakistan’s ODI squad: Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Hasnain, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

Traveling reserve: Abdullah Shafique