Pakistan announce T20I squad for tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe

[MenInG]

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Pakistan squads for South Africa and Zimbabwe announced

• 18-player T20I and ODI squads named, 20-player Test side confirmed; 14 players feature in both T20I and ODI sides, eight players earn selectors’ nod across all formats

• Mohammad Hafeez and Shadab Khan return after missing South Africa series, Sharjeel Khan recalled to T20I side; Yasir Shah not available for Zimbabwe Tests due to left knee injury

• New-comers Arshad Iqbal of Swabi named in T20I side, Mohammad Wasim Jnr of North Waziristan picked in both T20I and ODI teams, Larkana’s Shahnawaz Dahani included in Test squad

• Pakistan’s white-ball side to depart for Johannesburg on 26 March for three ODIs and four T20Is; will also play three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe; Test specialists to leave for Bulawayo around 12 April

• Training camp for white-ball players to commence in Lahore on 19 March
Lahore, 12 March 2021:

Pakistan cricket selectors have continued to reward domestic performers and show faith in emerging cricketers as they named formidable sides for the upcoming challenges in South Africa and Zimbabwe where the national men’s side will play seven T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.

The seven T20Is and two Tests will count towards the ICC T20I and Test Team Rankings, while the three ODIs against South Africa will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League – a 13-team competition from which the top seven sides will qualify automatically for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

The 35-member Pakistan squad will depart for Johannesburg on 26 March for the three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa. They will then fly to Bulawayo on 17 April for three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe. The side is scheduled to return on 12 May.

Prior to their departure for Johannesburg, a training camp for the white-ball players will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium from 19 March. The players will arrive in Lahore on 18 March following 16 March PCR tests in their respective cities and will undergo further PCR tests on 18, 21 and 24 March. During the Lahore camp, the players will remain in a bio-secure environment.

The T20I and ODI sides include 18 players each with 14 players featuring in both the formats, while the Test squad comprises 20 players with eight players figuring across all three formats. These eight players are Babar Azam (captain), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Squads:

T20I: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Asif Ali (Northern), Danish Aziz (Sindh), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Mohammad Hafeez (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sharjeel Khan (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)

Pakistan white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan and T20I specialist Mohammad Hafeez have returned to the side after missing the South Africa series.

In addition to the two experienced campaigners, the selectors have also recalled 31-year-old left-handed opener Sharjeel Khan to the T20I side, four years after his 15th and last T20I match. In the 2020-21 season, Sharjeel scored 233 runs in the National T20 Cup, while he was third behind Mohammad Rizwan (297 runs) and Babar Azam (258 runs) with 200 runs in five HBL Pakistan Super League 6 matches before the event was postponed.

The newcomers in the white-ball squads are 20-year-old Swabi-born fast bowler Arshad Iqbal (T20I squad) and 19-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Wasim Jnr from North Waziristan (both T20I and ODI squads).

Arshad has earned selection after claiming 10 T20 wickets and seven 50-over wickets in the 2020-21 season, while his Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team-mate Wasim took seven 50-over wickets and four T20 wickets in the HBL PSL 6. Wasim also played in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020.

Chief selector Muhammad Wasim: “I want to congratulate Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Wasim Junior and Shahnawaz Dahani on their selections in the Pakistan squads. This is an acknowledgement and reward for their talent and performances in the 2020-21 domestic season.

“Representing the country at a global stage is the biggest honour and achievement for any professional athlete. I am confident these selections for important tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe will inspire and motivate these budding youngsters to produce more impressive and consistent performances so that they can justify the faith and confidence exposed on them by the team management and selectors.

“Sharjeel Khan has also staged a comeback in the T20I squad. Although he is exactly not where we want him to be, he is not too far away. With the form he has recently shown in the domestic T20 events, he deserves an opportunity to further improve his fitness and show he still has that ability to win big matches for Pakistan.

“Imad Wasim has missed out on selection as we have opted to continue with Mohammad Nawaz. The all-rounder had a decent series against South Africa, taking three wickets at an economy rate of 6.10 with a brisk 11-ball 18 not out in the series finale. Nawaz deserves another opportunity to show that he belongs to white-ball cricket.

“Aamer Yamin, Amad Butt and Kamran Ghulam are unlucky to miss out on selections. Aamer and Amad have paved the way for Mohammad Hafeez and Shadab Khan in the T20I squad, while Kamran has narrowly missed out to Salman Ali Agha and Saud Shakeel in the Test side. However, the three are in the larger pool of players and will get their opportunity at some stage as we have a busy year of cricket ahead of us.

“The South Africa and Zimbabwe tours are extremely important for Pakistan cricket. The seven T20Is are part of our preparation for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, while the South Africa ODIs are part of the Super League as we aim to qualify directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Tour itinerary (Zimbabwe schedule to be announced in due course)

26 March – Departure for Johannesburg
2 April - 1st ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
4 April - 2nd ODI; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
7 April - 3rd ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
10 April - 1st T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
12 April - 2nd T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
14 April - 3rd T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
16 April -4th T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
17 April – Departure for Bulawayo
12 May – Departure for Lahore from Bulawayo

 

[Barragan]

I don't know why shadab is being selected, he is useless and is playing simply because he did well for a few games early in his career.

Don't know why danish and asif are selected, but Zaman is left out?!?!

Lastly, there are at least 7 pace bowling options, but the WC is in ind.

 

[MHN1293]

Why was zahid mehmood left out. Good to see sharjeel, arshad and wasim in the squad.

 

[hitthestump]

No Zahid Mehmood is a real surprise.

 

[ChTab]

The inclusion of Sharjeel shows that we as a nation don't have any ethical values just wait & see this Sharjeel experiment will end in same way as Amir.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Best t20 squad in a while.

 

[redmaverik84]

Doesnt Pakistan have fitness tests like the yo yo etc? Has Sharjeel cleared it?

 

[saeed5646]

Wasim has stated nawaz is preferred over imad wasim because imad wasim was not full filling the role he was given .

 

[saeed5646]

Apart from asif ali i must say it is best squad available

 

[Artaxerxes]

Shadab,Asif and Danish don’t deserve a place in t20.

 

[saeed5646]

Seems like babar azam is not giving up his opening position which leads to fakhar zaman snub from t20 squad .

 

[guldozer]

I think zahid deserves another go, surely? Also, what is arshad iqbal doing there, he is more of a test match prospect.

 

[King_Kohli]

What about Fakhar Zaman?

 

[b.lesner]

Fakhar and Zahid in place of Shadab and Asif Ali otherwise good.

 

[Markhor]

Good squad but the inclusions of Asif Ali and Mohammad Wasim jnr are questionable, although the latter is probably a backup for Faheem Ashraf.

Shadab Khan has no business making the squad ahead of Zahid Mehmood, vice captain or not.

 

[ChTab]

Amazing from PCB way to show that we don't care whether a player fix a game or not he will be back in the team with minimum punishment, so many more will follow Sharjeel path because they will know that even if they get caught they'll only have to sit out for 2 years & then they will be back.

 

[Slim]

Pathetic stuff from Wasim Khan. Terrible to see frauds like Asif Ali coming back in the squad and to see people like Nawaz still being in the squad. And it clearly shows that we dont have a solid stance on anything - we kept the likes of Sharjeel out due to his lack of fitness and now hes back while showing no improvement in his fitness.

 

[IMMY69]

So they finally drop Talat from the T20 squad which is good but then fail to pick him in the odi side, longer format probably being more suited to his style of play...

 

[Shafi]

Sarfraz Ahmed in every squad. The guy is finished but PCB like old and finished players. No wonder we cannot go far. It doesn't help both Waqar and Misbah hold top coaching position.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Excellent squad. Don’t really rate Danish Aziz and I think Rohail could have been included instead of Sarfaraz, otherwise every other selection makes sense.

 

[Indiafan]

Amazing from PCB way to show that we don't care whether a player fix a game or not he will be back in the team with minimum punishment, so many more will follow Sharjeel path because they will know that even if they get caught they'll only have to sit out for 2 years & then they will be back.

More amazing is the fans cheating these fixers on again and again. Its like a weird Stockholm relationship. Also with all the claim of Pakistan having immense talent, its weird they need to keep bringing back fixers to make up their playing XI

 

[ChTab]

More amazing is the fans cheating these fixers on again and again. Its like a weird Stockholm relationship. Also with all the claim of Pakistan having immense talent, its weird they need to keep bringing back fixers to make up their playing XI

Pakistan having immense talent is a myth. Basically, we don't have any talent at all, if we had talent we wouldn't have to allow cheats like Amir back in the team & now this guy is not only a cheat but he's also obese.

 

[ChTab]

Pakistan having immense talent is a myth. Basically, we don't have any talent at all, if we had talent we wouldn't have to allow cheats like Amir back in the team & now this guy is not only a cheat but he's also obese.

Pakistani fans have a weird obsession with convicted players they don't understand that once you betray your country you don't deserve to play for your country ever again sure you can play in domestics because it's your bread & butter but never for your country again.

 

[ChTab]

Pakistani fans have a weird obsession with convicted players they don't understand that once you betray your country you don't deserve to play for your country ever again sure you can play in domestics because it's your bread & butter but never for your country again.

I don't think any other country would allow these convicted players to get back into the side, just have a look at England how they dealt with Pieterson & now with Hales even though their crimes were small as compared to fixing.

So Probably Kaneria is right when he says that he is punished because he is a Hindu. So far 2 Muslim players who have cheated have gotten a chance to represent Pakistan again in the last 5-6 years.

 

[Dark_Horse]

I don't think any other country would allow these convicted players to get back into the side, just have a look at England how they dealt with Pieterson & now with Hales even though their crimes were small as compared to fixing.

So Probably Kaneria is right when he says that he is punished because he is a Hindu. So far 2 Muslim players who have cheated have gotten a chance to represent Pakistan again in the last 5-6 years.

Danish Kaneria at 40 alongside already performing yasir in the team give it a thought. How will you fit him just a question

 

[ChTab]

Danish Kaneria at 40 alongside already performing yasir in the team give it a thought. How will you fit him just a question

So it's okay for a young player to fix a game or player who has a little bit of cricket left in him. The only reason Sharjeel got involved in fixing was that Amir was allowed to play for Pakistan again.

 

[asadee]

Imad Wasim shown the door?

 

[Extra_Cover]

Not happy with selection of Sharjeel. Apart from couple of PSL innings he has not done anything over the first class and other domestic league to warrant a national selection. To top it off his fitness standards are abysmal together with a dark fixing allegation next to his name. I'm disappointed with his selection.

Why is Imad Wasim being shown the door? On most fronts Imad is head and shoulders above Shadab except fielding. Yet he is omitted while others are selected. Given the world cup is in India we might need Imad more than ever for this tournament.

 

[Major]

Pathetic squad.

They dropped Zahid Mehmoood

Iftikhar also got dropped along with Asif Ali. Why did waseem select them?

What the hell is fat Sharjeel doing? ANd Arshad iqbal really?

Waseem Jr? The guy is not prepared, this is going to tbe the same msitake we did with husnain, musa and naseem

Mohammad Waseem is just announcing squads for the PR.

 

[cricketerB94]

First choice 11 from this squad should be:

Rizwan
Sharjeel
Babar
Hafeez
Haider
Shadab
Faheem
Nawaz
Hasan
Qadir
Shaheen

 

[GreenKhan]

Seems like babar azam is not giving up his opening position which leads to fakhar zaman snub from t20 squad .

It’s a straight shootout between Sharjeel and fakhar.

Rizwan is the other guaranteed opener and babar opens . Sharjeel comes in if babar drops to 3.

 

[nextover666666]

Zahid mehmood should have been their at the same time in t20 would have liked to see dahani as well and aamer yamin should have been in the sqaud

On the postive good to see sharjeel wasim jr and arshad iqbal danish aziz and hasnain

 

[Rayyman]

The squad lacks fast bowlers who can bowl well at the death.

Hasnain and Rauf are especially prone to spraying the ball around in pressure situations.

Mohammad Ilyas could have been a better option than either one of them. Smart bowler with decent control. He is also the best fielder out of Pakistani fast bowlers.

 

[hitthestump]

Where is Imad Wasim?

 

[UzmanBeast]

The squad lacks fast bowlers who can bowl well at the death.

Hasnain and Rauf are especially prone to spraying the ball around in pressure situations.

Mohammad Ilyas could have been a better option than either one of them. Smart bowler with decent control. He is also the best fielder out of Pakistani fast bowlers.

Agreed, Shaheen is good in the powerplay with the new ball, so I would want someone capable of bowling at the death so that Shaheen could bowl an extra over in the PP if there's a good breakthrough.

Rauf is a scattergun, Hasnain is faster and better than Rauf IMO. Ilyas is a scattergun as well, doesn't really have a lot of control from what I've seen.

However, Hasnain with the new ball isn't half bad either, so we might see Shaheen maybe bowl 1 over in the PP and 3 in the death, who knows.

Hasan Ali should play ahead of Rauf, looks like a new bowler the way he's bowling now.

 

[Ahson8]

Excellent squad. Don’t really rate Danish Aziz and I think Rohail could have been included instead of Sarfaraz, otherwise every other selection makes sense.

Why don't you rate Danish bro ? Not even for ODIs ?

 

[Mamoon]

What color charts and graphs did Mr. PowerPoint use to justify the selection of Asif Ali?

Another lame squad by a clueless Chief Selector who is fishing for cheap praise from the ex-players on YouTube.

 

[Mamoon]

An overweight, mediocre fixer makes his comeback in his 30s.

Pakistan deserves the reputation that it has.

 

[Kaddy]

Ideally, fixers should not be selected for the national squad and Sharjeel is not only a fixer, he's unfit and mediocre as well.

Moreover, he mostly scored in national t20 cup and in PSL, when he was given 2 to 3 lives.

International teams won't drop those types of dollies.

 

[fasihulhaq94]

Ridiculous selections!

Shadab has absolutely no business in the squad let alone being made VC. Imad should be in his place. Don't understand this sudden change in mood from the management to just forget about him.

Also no clue how Asif Ali and Sharjeel made it to the squad ahead of Fakhar and Zahid Mehmood.

 

[SARJ_BD]

Cant endorse corruption by watching Sharjeel khan play.

That's it. I will stop following Pakistan cricket from today.

My last remark: Pakistan supports corruption

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Some people forget that Shadab is the vice captain of the team so he will be selected whatever the case. M Wasim can't do much about that.

If you look at the bigger picture then you'll see that he is getting rid of failures which were previously selected by Misbah. Our T20 WC team is getting there and its looking better.

Sharjeel is the only power hitting opening batsman in Pakistan and with Hafeez's return Pak's top 4 looks solid.

Things looking better for Pak compared to a year ago when Misbah kept trusting Ifti's, Khushdil's making our middle order look weak.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Why don't you rate Danish bro ? Not even for ODIs ?

For T20Is his strike rate is on the lower side for a lower order batsman (very low), and has not even proved himself in the PSL. Why are we giving T20I debuts to people who haven’t proved themselves in PSL?

He has good enough performances to be considered for ODIs though, but there are people higher in the pecking order.

1. Imam ul Haq
2. M Rizwan (wk)
3. Babar Azam
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Haider Ali
6. Faheem Ashraf
7. Mohammad Nawaz
8. Shadab Khan
9. Hassan Ali
10. Usman Qadir
11. Shaheen Afridi

This is the natural ODI lineup based on the squad selected. On the bench you have Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, and even Sarfaraz Ahmed. All of these guys are superior to Danish who had an excellent temperament and a brain but is too limited against quality fast bowling coming in at 5/6.

I’m happy to be proven wrong but Danish Aziz’s most famous knock is when he smacked Iftikhar Ahmed in the last over of a T20 for like 20 runs. And Ifti was bowling medium pace

I think there are certain conditions based on which you begin to hype a player — Danish has only fulfilled one of these, temperament. Consistency? No — only one season with a few knocks in T20 and Pakistan Cup. Talent? Not really, nothing particularly good against his stroke play and majority of his runs came against spinners and medium pacers.

Remains to be seen whether he can step up to the next level. I’m very certain that T20I is not the format for him though. If he does have a successful career, it will be as a number 5 or 6 in ODI cricket. And we have better people for those positions right now.

 

[Dark_Horse]

So it's okay for a young player to fix a game or player who has a little bit of cricket left in him. The only reason Sharjeel got involved in fixing was that Amir was allowed to play for Pakistan again.

One crime one punishment and for the selection of Sharjeel he is unfit as well as need to perform more. There are already better options available fakhar babar rizwan suffice the cause. Amir was brought too early for my liking should have been asked to perform for a full season full season means atleast 12-16 first class games and to show fitness

 

[Lfc4life786]

Sharjeel
Rizzy
Babar
Hafeez
Haider
Danish
Faheem
Nawaz
Hassan
Qadir
Shaheen

That is a ������ XI. No doubt shadab will start but I really hope not. Play this team together as much as we can and wed be serious contenders for the WT20.

 

[Saj]

Where is Imad Wasim?

At home, not very happy.

 

[Bewal Express]

I just noticed that Chacha has been dropped and someone even worse in Asif Ali has been chosen. We are so short of quality and choices that its scary.

 

[Bewal Express]

At home, not very happy.

I think they will still chose him for the WC but he has been pretty awful bowling his medium paced in dippers.

 

[srh]

==

Pakistan squads for South Africa and Zimbabwe announced

• 18-player T20I and ODI squads named, 20-player Test side confirmed; 14 players feature in both T20I and ODI sides, eight players earn selectors’ nod across all formats

• Mohammad Hafeez and Shadab Khan return after missing South Africa series, Sharjeel Khan recalled to T20I side; Yasir Shah not available for Zimbabwe Tests due to left knee injury

• New-comers Arshad Iqbal of Swabi named in T20I side, Mohammad Wasim Jnr of North Waziristan picked in both T20I and ODI teams, Larkana’s Shahnawaz Dahani included in Test squad

• Pakistan’s white-ball side to depart for Johannesburg on 26 March for three ODIs and four T20Is; will also play three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe; Test specialists to leave for Bulawayo around 12 April

• Training camp for white-ball players to commence in Lahore on 19 March
Lahore, 12 March 2021:

Pakistan cricket selectors have continued to reward domestic performers and show faith in emerging cricketers as they named formidable sides for the upcoming challenges in South Africa and Zimbabwe where the national men’s side will play seven T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.

The seven T20Is and two Tests will count towards the ICC T20I and Test Team Rankings, while the three ODIs against South Africa will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League – a 13-team competition from which the top seven sides will qualify automatically for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

The 35-member Pakistan squad will depart for Johannesburg on 26 March for the three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa. They will then fly to Bulawayo on 17 April for three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe. The side is scheduled to return on 12 May.

Prior to their departure for Johannesburg, a training camp for the white-ball players will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium from 19 March. The players will arrive in Lahore on 18 March following 16 March PCR tests in their respective cities and will undergo further PCR tests on 18, 21 and 24 March. During the Lahore camp, the players will remain in a bio-secure environment.

The T20I and ODI sides include 18 players each with 14 players featuring in both the formats, while the Test squad comprises 20 players with eight players figuring across all three formats. These eight players are Babar Azam (captain), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Squads:

T20I: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Asif Ali (Northern), Danish Aziz (Sindh), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Mohammad Hafeez (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sharjeel Khan (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)

Pakistan white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan and T20I specialist Mohammad Hafeez have returned to the side after missing the South Africa series.

In addition to the two experienced campaigners, the selectors have also recalled 31-year-old left-handed opener Sharjeel Khan to the T20I side, four years after his 15th and last T20I match. In the 2020-21 season, Sharjeel scored 233 runs in the National T20 Cup, while he was third behind Mohammad Rizwan (297 runs) and Babar Azam (258 runs) with 200 runs in five HBL Pakistan Super League 6 matches before the event was postponed.

The newcomers in the white-ball squads are 20-year-old Swabi-born fast bowler Arshad Iqbal (T20I squad) and 19-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Wasim Jnr from North Waziristan (both T20I and ODI squads).

Arshad has earned selection after claiming 10 T20 wickets and seven 50-over wickets in the 2020-21 season, while his Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team-mate Wasim took seven 50-over wickets and four T20 wickets in the HBL PSL 6. Wasim also played in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020.

Chief selector Muhammad Wasim: “I want to congratulate Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Wasim Junior and Shahnawaz Dahani on their selections in the Pakistan squads. This is an acknowledgement and reward for their talent and performances in the 2020-21 domestic season.

“Representing the country at a global stage is the biggest honour and achievement for any professional athlete. I am confident these selections for important tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe will inspire and motivate these budding youngsters to produce more impressive and consistent performances so that they can justify the faith and confidence exposed on them by the team management and selectors.

“Sharjeel Khan has also staged a comeback in the T20I squad. Although he is exactly not where we want him to be, he is not too far away. With the form he has recently shown in the domestic T20 events, he deserves an opportunity to further improve his fitness and show he still has that ability to win big matches for Pakistan.

“Imad Wasim has missed out on selection as we have opted to continue with Mohammad Nawaz. The all-rounder had a decent series against South Africa, taking three wickets at an economy rate of 6.10 with a brisk 11-ball 18 not out in the series finale. Nawaz deserves another opportunity to show that he belongs to white-ball cricket.

“Aamer Yamin, Amad Butt and Kamran Ghulam are unlucky to miss out on selections. Aamer and Amad have paved the way for Mohammad Hafeez and Shadab Khan in the T20I squad, while Kamran has narrowly missed out to Salman Ali Agha and Saud Shakeel in the Test side. However, the three are in the larger pool of players and will get their opportunity at some stage as we have a busy year of cricket ahead of us.

“The South Africa and Zimbabwe tours are extremely important for Pakistan cricket. The seven T20Is are part of our preparation for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, while the South Africa ODIs are part of the Super League as we aim to qualify directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Tour itinerary (Zimbabwe schedule to be announced in due course)

26 March – Departure for Johannesburg
2 April - 1st ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
4 April - 2nd ODI; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
7 April - 3rd ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
10 April - 1st T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
12 April - 2nd T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
14 April - 3rd T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
16 April -4th T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria
17 April – Departure for Bulawayo
12 May – Departure for Lahore from Bulawayo

I do not like so many players selected for a tour. 15 players max should be selected for a tour. 18 is too many.

This is a pretty good squad. Drop Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Usman Qadir. Select Imad Wasim. Now the squad is at 15.

 

[Hasan123]

I don’t have an issue with Imad being dropped from ODIs as I doubt he has the fitness to make it to the 2023 WC but extremely harsh to drop him from T20s. He is a good T20 player.

Mehmood looks better than Qadir. Qadir should not be in the squad ahead of Mehmood.

 

[hitthestump]

Cant endorse corruption by watching Sharjeel khan play.

That's it. I will stop following Pakistan cricket from today.

My last remark: Pakistan supports corruption

If a criminal comes out of jail after serving his time does that mean society supports criminal behaviour?

 

[Usman]

At home, not very happy.

This is ridiculous. Imad is an outstanding t20 player. What are the selectors up to.

Shadab on the other hand is really struggling.

Meanwhile Zahid finds himself out after an outstanding debut. What. On. Earth!

 

[Hasan123]

Sarfraz is a waste of time selection. Well past his best. Would have been better to take a younger keeper on this tour.

 

[Suleiman]

Doesnt Pakistan have fitness tests like the yo yo etc? Has Sharjeel cleared it?

Yeah it’s the yolk yolk test and he passed it.

 

[ahmedzee]

Very good squad. I would've loved to see Imad Wasim in there. I know Aamir is retired but would've loved to see him in SA.

 

[redmaverik84]

He must have gobbled the most yolks in a given span of time, only way he cleared the test. I hope We don't go back to the 90s where playing with a pot belly was the norm, now with Cornwall and Sharjeel.

 

[Coolcapri]

I think, Malik should have been in the squad in place of Danish & Aamir should come in place of Arshad Iqbal. Fakher also needs to be in the team.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Fakhar should be in the team. Sharjeel and Fakhar to open the batting, only way we can hope to chase down substantial scores. Babar at 3 and Rizwan at 5, after Hafeez. That’s a more than solid batting line-up for T20 cricket.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Very strange inclusions and exclusions?
Why leave Imad ? Why include Abdulla Shafique ?

 

[Ahson8]

For T20Is his strike rate is on the lower side for a lower order batsman (very low), and has not even proved himself in the PSL. Why are we giving T20I debuts to people who haven’t proved themselves in PSL?

He has good enough performances to be considered for ODIs though, but there are people higher in the pecking order.

1. Imam ul Haq
2. M Rizwan (wk)
3. Babar Azam
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Haider Ali
6. Faheem Ashraf
7. Mohammad Nawaz
8. Shadab Khan
9. Hassan Ali
10. Usman Qadir
11. Shaheen Afridi

This is the natural ODI lineup based on the squad selected. On the bench you have Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, and even Sarfaraz Ahmed. All of these guys are superior to Danish who had an excellent temperament and a brain but is too limited against quality fast bowling coming in at 5/6.

I’m happy to be proven wrong but Danish Aziz’s most famous knock is when he smacked Iftikhar Ahmed in the last over of a T20 for like 20 runs. And Ifti was bowling medium pace

I think there are certain conditions based on which you begin to hype a player — Danish has only fulfilled one of these, temperament. Consistency? No — only one season with a few knocks in T20 and Pakistan Cup. Talent? Not really, nothing particularly good against his stroke play and majority of his runs came against spinners and medium pacers.

Remains to be seen whether he can step up to the next level. I’m very certain that T20I is not the format for him though. If he does have a successful career, it will be as a number 5 or 6 in ODI cricket. And we have better people for those positions right now.

Bro, you are ignoring the fact that he steered his team to victory from 33/7. He might not be as big a hitter as others, but his game awareness would make up for it inshaAllah

 

[saeedhk]

The only gutsy and confident player Imad Wasim was been dropped. Pathetic!

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Bro, you are ignoring the fact that he steered his team to victory from 33/7. He might not be as big a hitter as others, but his game awareness would make up for it inshaAllah

That’s fantastic, but to be honest that was more of an ODI number 5/6 knock than a T20I one. Playing for the Pakistan team he will pretty much never come in at 33/7. Our team requirement is looking for someone who can accelerate after Rizwan, Babar, Hafeez lay a solid base. We also already have others in the team who can do the rebuilding job like Shadab and Faheem who actually did this job just a few months ago against New Zealand. We also now have the addition of Mohammad Nawaz, Hassan Ali, and Usman Qadir all playing at positions 8-10 which gives us extraordinary batting depth (allowing the upper order players to attack).

I do love Danish’s temperament, but we need to be realistic about what the T20I team needs and Danish isn’t the answer.

Maybe in ODIs. Let’s see how he develops and reacts to quality bowling.

 

[Ahson8]

That’s fantastic, but to be honest that was more of an ODI number 5/6 knock than a T20I one. Playing for the Pakistan team he will pretty much never come in at 33/7. Our team requirement is looking for someone who can accelerate after Rizwan, Babar, Hafeez lay a solid base. We also already have others in the team who can do the rebuilding job like Shadab and Faheem who actually did this job just a few months ago against New Zealand. We also now have the addition of Mohammad Nawaz, Hassan Ali, and Usman Qadir all playing at positions 8-10 which gives us extraordinary batting depth (allowing the upper order players to attack).

I do love Danish’s temperament, but we need to be realistic about what the T20I team needs and Danish isn’t the answer.

Maybe in ODIs. Let’s see how he develops and reacts to quality bowling.

Yeah, fair enough, thats why I asked you if you rate him in ODIs or not

 

[TeymurBlake]

Okay lets start with some of the positives:

1. Nawaz retained and likely to play ahead of Imad Wasim. Nawaz is a solid allrounder, turns the bowl and is economical and takes wickets, gets runs and is a competent batsman and finally a solid fielder. A solid selection

2. Danish Aziz and Mohammad Hasnain retained despite not getting game time against SA, but are good enough to get opportunities and maybe should be part of the starting line-up. Especially Hasnain.

3. Mohammad Wasim jr and Arshad Iqbal selected after good performances in PSL despite Wasim small sample size and needing work on his action as well as run-up. But good performances result in call-ups.

4. Mohammad Hafeez returning to the side when he was most needed. The Pakistan T20I middle order was abysmal without him and with him Pakistan look solid.

Now the negatives and I am afraid they outweigh the positives.

1. Everyone seems to be talking about and mentioning it everywhere but for me Sharjeel Khan's return to the side is a bad decision. Despite getting runs and looking like his old self, his fitness is atrocious specially when running between wickets and fitness as a whole and his fielding is just bad, ground fielding and catching have been withering away. Sure his fitness was great but back then like 2016, his fielding was acceptable and looked like he was putting a shift in and covered good ground with that belly.

2. Shadab Khan has been brought back into the team without good performances with the bat and bowl. He is in his worse form of his career despite his young career and captaincy pedigree. But he shouldn't be in the team, if an allround spinner was needed but you have Nawaz and Danish Aziz.

3. Asif Ali was retained despite nothing performances but Ifti chacha and Khushdil Shah being rightfully dropped. Asif hasn't improved, his timing at times has looked good but there's no power there and he is too one dimensional player whereas Pandya, Buttler, Neesham, Bairstow, Miller are so much more diverse and are just better athletes and better batsman. Much better.

4. Haris Rauf is retained despite poor performances of late and I can't help but think besides his "express" pace he doesn't offer anything and it would have been better if they have play Hasnain instead and maybe brought in Mohammad Umar or retained Amad Butt who have more control.

5. Only one spinner in the squad. Usman Qadir has performed well for Pakistan in T20s, but another spinner should have been brought in the team. Nawaz, Aziz and Shadab Khan are allrounders, batting AR and bowling AR respectively. But maybe Zahid Mehmood or Zafar Gohar despite a poor PSL, should have been retained as other spinner options.

This is basically all I got from the T20I squad that Mohammad Wasim announced. Its a got some good picks and good retains but I can't help but feel the squad could have been better.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Okay lets start with some of the positives:

1. Nawaz retained and likely to play ahead of Imad Wasim. Nawaz is a solid allrounder, turns the bowl and is economical and takes wickets, gets runs and is a competent batsman and finally a solid fielder. A solid selection

2. Danish Aziz and Mohammad Hasnain retained despite not getting game time against SA, but are good enough to get opportunities and maybe should be part of the starting line-up. Especially Hasnain.

3. Mohammad Wasim jr and Arshad Iqbal selected after good performances in PSL despite Wasim small sample size and needing work on his action as well as run-up. But good performances result in call-ups.

4. Mohammad Hafeez returning to the side when he was most needed. The Pakistan T20I middle order was abysmal without him and with him Pakistan look solid.

Now the negatives and I am afraid they outweigh the positives.

1. Everyone seems to be talking about and mentioning it everywhere but for me Sharjeel Khan's return to the side is a bad decision. Despite getting runs and looking like his old self, his fitness is atrocious specially when running between wickets and fitness as a whole and his fielding is just bad, ground fielding and catching have been withering away. Sure his fitness was great but back then like 2016, his fielding was acceptable and looked like he was putting a shift in and covered good ground with that belly.

2. Shadab Khan has been brought back into the team without good performances with the bat and bowl. He is in his worse form of his career despite his young career and captaincy pedigree. But he shouldn't be in the team, if an allround spinner was needed but you have Nawaz and Danish Aziz.

3. Asif Ali was retained despite nothing performances but Ifti chacha and Khushdil Shah being rightfully dropped. Asif hasn't improved, his timing at times has looked good but there's no power there and he is too one dimensional player whereas Pandya, Buttler, Neesham, Bairstow, Miller are so much more diverse and are just better athletes and better batsman. Much better.

4. Haris Rauf is retained despite poor performances of late and I can't help but think besides his "express" pace he doesn't offer anything and it would have been better if they have play Hasnain instead and maybe brought in Mohammad Umar or retained Amad Butt who have more control.

5. Only one spinner in the squad. Usman Qadir has performed well for Pakistan in T20s, but another spinner should have been brought in the team. Nawaz, Aziz and Shadab Khan are allrounders, batting AR and bowling AR respectively. But maybe Zahid Mehmood or Zafar Gohar despite a poor PSL, should have been retained as other spinner options.

This is basically all I got from the T20I squad that Mohammad Wasim announced. Its a got some good picks and good retains but I can't help but feel the squad could have been better.

Good points.

But some people forget that this is a process towards that World T20 squad and Wasim & co seem to be trying out quite a few things first before selecting the best of the best.

It's the reason guys like Wahab, Malik are not selected as we already know what they offer and probably have better and younger replacements.

If some of these young guys do not make it around September then guys like Imad, Malik or Wahab could be back. It's not that they are discarded forever. Same goes for Zahid as Shadab, being the VC, gets the preference but could be dropped if he keeps disappointing. Guys like Asif, Sharjeel get their chance because of our lack of resources. If they flop then they will be done forever.

I think people are taking it too seriously instead of being happy with the new players that are being tried out in this process of getting that team for World T20. This is how Top sides do it.

 

[shamaan]

I think the squad is good but i would have had an extra batter in the squad instead of fast bowler.

Pluss points.
Nawaz:bowled decently in the last tour and also had decent outing in psl whilst imad had no impact with ball or bat during the psl.

Pluss points.
Arshad iqbal deserves to be in the squad for psl for his peformances as a whole in the psl but he wont get a game during the south africa series but may get a shot agsinst Zimbabwe.



Areas of improvement

I would have brought in Rohail nazir instead if sarfraz even thou sarfraz gave some decent performances.

 

[Maher96]

Decent enough squad to compete vs South Africa. Players need to perform. Some batsmen have ample of opportunity in the 7 t20’s and the formation has to be layed for the World Cup. May be it can be useful to pressure the bowlers and play 5 main and make them work hard. The 6th bowling option can leave a few bowlers loose. Also may be we can get safraz and rizwan in the xi as per batting both should be in the team given we have a lot all rounder in the team. Safraz can play the Malik role also given Haider enough to perform around. Hafeez would need continue the form and I think we will see a top order of sharjeel and rizwan followed by Babar. In bowling the newcomers would need to challenge as we still have the likes of Wahab and Amir to be called upon. All in all good squad and exciting series. My team is

1 Sharjeel
2 Rizwan
3 Babar
4 Hafeez
5 Sarfraz/ Asif Ali
6 Haider
7 Shadab
8 Faheem
9 Hassan
10 Qadir/Nawaz
11 Shaheen

Rotate bowlers with Haris in and out.

Winning the cup these lot are

 

[MenInG]

Lahore: Pakistan men’s cricket team will undergo four rounds of COVID-19 testing before their departure for the South Africa series, ARY Sports reported.

In the first phase, players and officials will be tested for the virus today in their respective cities. The squad will then gather in Lahore on March 18 for the second phase of the COVID-19 tests.

The third and fourth rounds will take place on March 21 and 24 respectively, while the squad will depart for South Africa on March 26.

The training camp of the national squad will be held in ‘Bio-secure Bubble’. PCB has also approached the Punjab government for approval of the camp. PCB hopes to get permission for the camp.

Note, the Punjab government has suspended sports activities due to increasing cases of COVID-19 across province.

ARY

 

[feelings2002]

why asad shafiq had not picked in test squad for the tour of south africa and zimbabwe.

 

[saeed5646]

why asad shafiq had not picked in test squad for the tour of south africa and zimbabwe.

He is too good a player for team like Pakistan

 

[Canistani Hero]

First choice 11 from this squad should be:

Rizwan
Sharjeel
Babar
Hafeez
Haider
Shadab
Faheem
Nawaz
Hasan
Qadir
Shaheen

Agreed. Might be tempted to swap Shadab with Haris if the pitch is conducive to pace

 

[Canistani Hero]

why asad shafiq had not picked in test squad for the tour of south africa and zimbabwe.

He is a part of the past and must remain a part of the past for Saud Shakeel to become part of the future

 

[Last Monetarist]

A total of 35 tests were conducted on the South Africa-bound Pakistan men’s national cricket team on Tuesday, 16 March. All squad members have tested negative, except for one player.

Those who have tested negative will now assemble in Lahore on Thursday, 18 March, for the training camp, which will commence at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.

The player who has tested positive will undergo a repeat test on Thursday at his residence. If he tests negative, only then he will be eligible to travel to Lahore where he will remain in isolation for two more days before being retested.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

A total of 35 tests were conducted on the South Africa-bound Pakistan men’s national cricket team on Tuesday, 16 March. All squad members have tested negative, except for one player.

Those who have tested negative will now assemble in Lahore on Thursday, 18 March, for the training camp, which will commence at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.

The player who has tested positive will undergo a repeat test on Thursday at his residence. If he tests negative, only then he will be eligible to travel to Lahore where he will remain in isolation for two more days before being retested.

Any idea who that is?

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

Might be sharjeel

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

South Africa vs Pakistan: One Pakistan Cricketer Tests Positive For COVID-19 Ahead Of Tour

Ahead of the South Africa tour, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday confirmed that one member of the squad has tested positive for coronavirus. The 35-member Pakistan squad will depart for Johannesburg on March 26 for the three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa. They will then fly to Bulawayo on April 17 for three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe. The side is scheduled to return on May 12. "A total of 35 tests were conducted on the South Africa-bound Pakistan men's national cricket team on Tuesday, 16 March. All squad members have tested negative, except for one player," PCB said in a statement.

"The player who has tested positive will undergo a repeat test on Thursday at his residence. If he tests negative, only then he will be eligible to travel to Lahore where he will remain in isolation for two more days before being retested," it added.

Other members of the squad will now assemble in Lahore on Thursday for the training camp, which will commence at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday, PCB said.

https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/sou...s-positive-for-covid-19-ahead-of-tour-2392961

 

[Colorblind Genius]

So what?

Its boring and old fashioned now.

Lets get over it and move on.

Mass vaccination is been happening almost everywhere in the world. And we hardly hear any friend or family getting infected anymore. We are seeing the back end of this pandemic. Lets not make a big deal and get on with it. It's over!

 

[Indiafan]

So what?

Its boring and old fashioned now.

Lets get over it and move on.

Mass vaccination is been happening almost everywhere in the world. And we hardly hear any friend or family getting infected anymore. We are seeing the back end of this pandemic. Lets not make a big deal and get on with it. It's over!

Its over because of all the precautions taken. If not, millions more would have died. And don't forget, history has taught us again and again that the second wave is always way more deadlier and kills more. In Spanish flu, initially people were dying in weeks, in second wave, young people were dropping dead within day or two of displaying symptoms

Most people who lost relatives etc in pandemics did that in the second wave, not first

Those who don't learn from history, are bound to repeat it

 

[Coolcapri]

Its over because of all the precautions taken. If not, millions more would have died. And don't forget, history has taught us again and again that the second wave is always way more deadlier and kills more. In Spanish flu, initially people were dying in weeks, in second wave, young people were dropping dead within day or two of displaying symptoms

Most people who lost relatives etc in pandemics did that in the second wave, not first

Those who don't learn from history, are bound to repeat it

Pandemic is still noy over, We here in UAE are in 3rd wave, Though more than 50% of population got vaccination but it was clearly told that you can still get covid so need to do all precaution.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Any idea who that is?

No, the PCB hasn't disclosed the name (yet).