Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made some monumental changes in the Pakistan T20 World Cup 2021 Squad just days before the world cup. All set to begin on 17th October in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Pakistan is placed in Group 2 in which they will play against Afghanistan, India, New Zealand and two qualifying teams from the initial stages.
At first, Pakistan had announced a 15 player squad, but that is being changed after a lot of things were considered. Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim made the announcement and gave his reasoning for the changes in the squad so close to the major event.
Here is everything you need to know about the new squad, management changes and more.
Changes in Pakistani Squad for T20 World Cup 2021
Just days before the T20 World Cup 2021, Mohammad Wasim announced that they have made three changes to the team. According to the announcement made, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Haider Ali have been added to the T20 World Cup 2021 squad to replace Azam Khan and Mohammad Hasnain.
Another change came in the form of Fakhar Zaman who replaced Khushdil Shah. It is still unclear if Sohaib Maqsood will be included in the Pakistani squad or not as he is awaiting medical advice. He had an MRI scan of his lower back when he complained about lower back pain during a National T20 game.
New Pakistan T20 World Cup Squad
According to the announcement made, the following players have made it to the squad and will represent Pakistan during T20 World Cup 2021.
- Babar Azam (captain, Central Punjab)
- Shadab Khan (vice-captain, Northern)
- Asif Ali (Northern)
- Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Haider Ali (Northern)
- Haris Rauf (Northern)
- Hasan Ali (Central Punjab)
- Imad Wasim (Northern)
- Mohammad Hafeez (Central Punjab)
- Mohammad Nawaz (Northern)
- Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper, Sindh)
- Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Sohaib Maqsood (Southern Punjab)
Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir are going as reserved players.
As for the management team, Saqlain Mushtaq has been appointed as the Interim Head Coach. Mohammad Wasim said:
“After reviewing player performances in the highly-competitive National T20 and in consultation with the team management, we have decided to include Haider Ali, Fakhar Zaman and Sarfaraz Ahmed in the squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.”
He also mentioned, “The three in-form players bring with them wealth of experience and talent, and provide further stability, balance and strength to the side. It must be tough for Azam, Khushdil and Hasnain for missing out but they still have a lot to offer in their careers. They are in our future plans as a lot of cricket has to be played post the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 and in the lead up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.”
“I am pleased with the intensity and high quality of cricket that we have witnessed in the National T20. It has not only provided the players excellent match practice in the lead up to the UAE competition, it has also given us the opportunity to closely monitor the player progress and then make decisions that are in the best interest of the side for what will be a cut-throat tournament,” said Mohammad Wasim.
Schedule of Pakistan’s matches in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (all matches to start at 1900 Pakistan time):
24 Oct – Pakistan v India, ICC T20 WC (Group 2), Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
26 Oct – Pakistan v New Zealand, ICC T20 WC (Group 2), Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
29 Oct – Pakistan v Afghanistan, ICC T20 WC (Group 2), Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
2 Nov – Pakistan v A2, ICC T20 WC (Group 2), Sheikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium, Abdu Dhabi
7 Nov –Pakistan v B1, ICC T20 WC (Group 2), Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah