Pakistan drop Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen from T20I squad for Bangladesh series

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 16-player men's squad for the forthcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which will take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The schedule for the series will be announced later, the PCB said on Wednesday.

Salman Ali Agha will lead the side, with Shadab Khan named as vice-captain. The squad has been finalised based on player performances in the ongoing PSL X, which concludes on 25 May.

This will also be the first series under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Mike Hesson.

The squad features the return of experienced players including Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman, and Saim Ayub. All-rounders Faheem Ashraf, Hussain Talat, and wicketkeeper-batter Sahibzada Farhan have also been recalled. Fast bowlers Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Naseem Shah have succeeded in making it back into the national setup.

However, several notable names have been excluded from the squad. Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was part of the T20I squad during the recent New Zealand tour, has been left out. Also missing from the lineup are former captain Babar Azam and senior wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, both of whom have once again been overlooked by selectors.

Abbas Afridi, Abdul Samad, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Umair bin Yousuf, Sufyan Muqeem, and Usman Khan have also been dropped from the squad announced today.

Squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), and Saim Ayub.