Pak U19s leave for South Africa today

LAHORE: Pakistan Under-19 team will depart for Durban (South Africa) early Saturday morning (today) for a series of seven 50-over matches to be played from June 22 to July 7 in Pietermaritzburg and Durban, says a press release.

The series is part of the side’s preparation for next year’s ICC Under-19 World Cup 2020, which will be staged in South Africa from January 17 to February 9, 2020.

The 15-player side includes a number of exciting players who performed well in the 3-2 series victory over Sri Lanka in Hambantota recently.

Captain and wicketkeeper/batsman Rohail Nazir, who top-scored in the five-match 50-over series against Sri Lanka with 320 runs, said: “The win over Sri Lanka U19 has boosted the players’ confidence for the South Africa series. The win has provided us a great platform to perform well not only on the upcoming tour but later this year’s ACC U19 Asia Cup 2019 in Sri Lanka, followed by the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020.

Naseem, the right-arm fast bowler from Lahore, was ruled out from competitive cricket last October due to back injury. The fast bowler worked with the National Cricket Academy as part of the rehabilitation process, and is excited to represent Pakistan U19 again.

Squad: Rohail Nazir (captain, wk); Haider Ali (vice-captain) Abbas Afridi; Akhtar Shah; Amir Ali; Basit Ali; Fahad Munir; Irfan Niazi; Muhammad Amir; Mohammad Haris; Mohammad Wasim; Naseem Shah; Qasim Akram; Saim Ayub and Shiraz Khan.

Team management: Azam Khan (coach-cum-manager), Mohtashim Rasheed (assistant coach), Faheem Shah (physiotherapist), Saboor Ahmed (trainer), Usman Hashmi (analyst).