Pakistan Squad 2024: Pakistan announced their final squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 just hours before the ICC deadline, with Babar Azam to lead the 15-member squad. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board has not named a vice-captain nor a travelling reserve for the month-long ICC tournament in the USA and the West Indies.
The squad had a few surprises while the players were picked from the squad that is touring Ireland and England. Irfan Khan and Agha Salman were not picked and so also Hasan Ali, who was released back to join his county side Warwickshire.
Abbas Afridi has secured a spot in the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup, joining four other specialist fast bowlers. Imad Wasim, who has come out of retirement for this tournament, will be the left-arm spin option, while Abrar Ahmed is the sole specialist legspinner.
"This is an extremely talented and balanced side that has a mixture of youth and experience. These players have been playing together for some time and look well prepared and settled for next month's event," a statement attributed to the selection committee in a PCB release said.
"Haris Rauf is fully fit and bowling well in the nets. It would have been nice if he had gotten an outing at Headingley in the first T20I against England (which was rained out), but we remain confident that he will continue to maintain an upward trajectory in the upcoming matches, as he will have an important role to play along with other strike bowlers in the T20 World Cup," the release also said.
Media reports indicate that an initial squad was finalised and sent to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on May 23. However, issues arose concerning the proper consultation process among the selection panel members.
Unlike other teams, Pakistan did not announce a provisional squad at the start of the month, making them the last team to officially confirm their final squad for the T20 World Cup. All 19 other teams had submitted their squads a few days prior.
Currently, Pakistan is in the midst of a T20I series in England. Following which, they will fly to the USA, where all four of their group stage matches will take place. Pakistan will not play any warm-up games before the tournament.
Pakistan's T20 World Cup campaign kicks off against the USA in Dallas on June 6, followed by a match against India in New York on June 9. They will remain in New York to play against Canada on June 11, and then travel to Lauderhill to face Ireland on June 16 for their final group game.
T20 World Cup 2024 Pakistan squad:
Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
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