Pakistan’s T20I squad for Australia series announced; Babar Azam returns

On Friday, January 23, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced its 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Australia, scheduled to start on Thursday, January 29, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The experienced duo of Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have returned to the T20I setup after missing out on Pakistan’s recent T20I series in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Shadab is expected to lead the Pakistan spin attack, which also includes Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, and Usman Tariq. 

The 16-man squad will be led by the batting all-rounder Salman Ali Agha, with Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Faheem Ashraf forming the pace battery in the line-up.

Prior to this series, Pakistan clashed against Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series earlier this month, levelling it 1-1 with one game ending in a no-result. Before this series, Pakistan played a home tri-series that saw the Men In Green coming out on top ahead of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Pakistan and Australia will lock horns in three T20Is ahead of the showpiece event in India and Sri Lanka. The series opener will be played on January 29, with the second match set to be played on January 31 and the third match on February 1. 

Pakistan T20I squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan and Usman Tariq.

Australia T20I squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitch Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Matt Short, Marcus Stonis, Adam Zampa.

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