LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) national selection committee, headed by former skipper Inzamamul Haq, Thursday named a 13-member squad for the only Twenty20 against England to be played at Old Trafford on next Wednesday (September 7). Sarfaz Ahmed will lead the team, while former captain Shahid Afridi, batsmen Umar Akmal and Ahmad Shahzad were not able find berths in the national outfit as the PCB looks to bring in new blood. The match will be Sarfraz’s first as T20 captain after he was named in April as Afridi’s replacement following the World T20 in India. Afridi led Pakistan in the World Twenty20 held in India in March-April this year but stopped short of announcing retirement after the team exited in the group stages. He featured in the Twenty20 tournament in England for Hampshire county but failed to give a performance of any note which forced the selectors to leave him out this time.
Amad Butt, the uncapped 21-year-old fast bowler, has been included in squad. Amad, who was part of the recent Pakistan A tour of England, has 12 wickets in six T20 matches. He played in the Pakistan team that knocked out England in the semi-final of the 2014 Under-19 World Cup in the UAE. The top-order batsman Khalid Latif is also included alongside left-arm pace bowler Sohail Tanvir. Mohammad Irfran, who was a late addition to the one-day squad after Mohammad Hafeez was injured, is retained for the T20. From the one-day squad current playing in England, Sami Aslam, Yasir Shah, Umar Gul, Hasan Ali and ODI captain Azhar Ali are not included.
Chief selector Inzamam said Afridi would be selected in the future if he performs better in domestic matches. “I said this before that since there is only one match we will not consider Afridi, but once he gives a performance at a domestic level he will be given a chance,” Inzamam said. “If Shahzad and Umar improve their discipline and performances they will also be considered for selection but since we have only one match on this tour we have tried to build the team for the future,” said Inzamam. Pakistan were playing the fourth one-day against England in Leeds on Thursday, having lost the first three matches. They also drew a four-match Test series 2-2 last month on this same tour.
Squad:
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Khalid Latif, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanveer, Amad Butt.
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