Pakistan's probable XI versus West Indies in the first T20

As the sun sets on the third edition of the PSL, Pakistan wakes up to a new series to look forward to on home soil as West Indies drop by for a quick T20 series starting from 1st April.

The best ranked T20 side partake in their first bilateral series since touring New Zealand in January, but what makes this one a tad more special is that it officially marks the return of international cricket to the country for the first time since 2009.

There's an air of excitement around the series back in Pakistan and understandably so. Here's how their team might line-up in their inaugural international game in almost a decade.

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#1 Openers

Fakhar Zaman

Fakhar Zaman

The 27-year old southpaw's graph is steadily on an upswing. Having flattered to deceive in the series against Sri Lanka last year, Zaman piloted his side to the comeback win over New Zealand earlier this year with a combined knock of 96 in the last two outings, and was one of the few bright spots in a Lahore Qalandars side that finished at the bottom of the PSL 2018 group stage.

Ahmed Shehzad

At only 26, few players can brag about the kind of pedigree that Shehzad does, and the Lahore native is looking upbeat upon returning to the squad last April after a considerable spell out with fitness layoffs and disciplinary issues.

An underwhelming PSL with Multan Sultan notwithstanding, Shehzad remains instrumental on the international front and would be raring on to build on his fine return in the Tasmanian tour.

#2 Middle Order

Babar Azam

Babar Azam

The Lahore wonderkid hasn't looked back ever since he burst onto the scene with Pakistan, and continues to keep the fans and critiques alike, drooling over his prodigious talent.

Babar Azam finished as the best Pakistani batsman in the Super League behind only his cousin Kamran Akmal with 402 runs and enjoyed a particularly fine outing against West Indies last year in the limited overs format, including the incredible knock of 125 not-out in the second ODI.

Asif Ali

Having waited in the wings for several years, Asif Ali's time may have come to finally flex his international muscle and what better way to do it than in T20, the one format he's pre-dominantly thrived in. The Islamabad United ace carved a niche in the domestic circuit with a string of promising knocks and played an influential role in helping his side clinch the 2018 edition of PSL.

Shoaib Malik

The Multan Sultan skipper recently announced his retirement from Test cricket but remains evergreen in the limited overs format. His exploits in the PSL would serve to add more substance to the claim.

The 36-year old all-rounder has proved to be of immense importance down the middle order for Pakistan, and one would have to cast their minds back as recently as October of last year to recall his talesmanship in his side's 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka. Malik would be looking to pull up more trees in his return to the T20 squad for the first time since the events.

Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan's batting trump card, Sarfraz Ahmed would be charged up after being announced the captain of the Test cricket side recently, thereby completing his anointment as the leader on all three formats. The 30-year old remains one of the best in the business behind the wickets and even though he's flattered to deceive with some of his underwhelming knocks in the recent games, his half-century against New Zeland served a timely reminder of his explosiveness with the bat.

Faheem Ashraf

The 24-year old only debuted last year and following a brief stint against the World XI where he played only one game and bowled one fruitless over, Ashraf gave a glimpse of his potential in the T20 series against Sri Lanka where he picked up 6 scalps in 9 overs at a frugal economy of only 4.5, before finishing as the most prolific bowler in the PSL 2018 with a mammoth 18 wickets from 12 innings.

While not so good with the bat - his last five scores in T20 read 8, 13, 7, 0 and 8 - he's one of the best quicks in the squad with the ability to trouble batsmen with his skiddy pace. That could be a big problem for the Windies at a National Stadium which favours the same.

#3 Bowlers

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Mohammed Amir

A series of encouraging performances upon return from the five-year embargo has helped the chinaman to truly exorcise the ghosts of the past and rebuild his stature within the Pakistani ranks. Mohammed Amir is one of the first names on the team-sheet when it comes to bowling, for his in-swinging curlers and deadly yorkers have bailed the men in green out on many an occasion in the recent times.

While Tests and ODIs remain his bailiwick where he holds considerably better bowling figures, Amir's ascent in T20s is unprecedented.

Hasan Ali

This one's a bit tricky. Hasan Ali has proved to be a bit costly when it comes to the shorter formats of the game. But then again, Pakistan don't boast enough right-arm fast bowlers as they do left-arm seamers. And the 24-year old also thrives on variation rather than raw pace, another oddity that makes him important to his side.

The fastest bowler to reach 50 ODI wickets for Pakistan, Ali would be aiming to replicate his ODI heroics in the T20 formats too after a forgetful spell in Tasmania earlier this year.

Shadab Khan

One of the hottest young prospects there is currently, Shadab Khan has taken the international cricket by storm ever since he burst onto the scene last year against Windies. With a talent that belies his age, the 19-year old would then go on to impress in numerous T20Is and also played a big part in Pakistan's maiden Champions Trophy success.

With 19 wickets in only 13 T20 innings, Khan has regularly been among the wicket-takers for Pakistan and is touted to be a star in the making. His spells in the latest series would provide a fitting assessment of his first year with the senior side, and one wouldn't bet against that being full of flying colours.

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Another promising youngster to emerge through Pakistan's first-class cricket, Shaheen Shah would be picking up his first cap in the series and his impressive showing in the PSL with Lahore Qalandars mean he would be in line to start against the Windies this Sunday itself, which would make him the youngest debutant behind Hasan Raza, at only 17 years and 358 days.

Touted to be Pakistan's Mitchell Starc, Shaheen Shah was influential to Pakistan's third-place finish in the recently concluded U-19 World Cup in Australia while his mammoth 6-ft 6-in stature would induce fear in the batsmen's hearts. His five-wicket haul in the recent PSL match against Multan Sultans displayed his prodigious skills to full strengths.