Shadab dropped for New Zealand T20s as Pakistan look to future

Lahore: Spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan was left out of a 17-man squad announced Tuesday for the Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand as Pakistan look to build back ahead of the World Cup.

Shadab disappointed with just two wickets and 121 runs from six World Cup (50 overs) matches in India in November before injuring an ankle in domestic competition.

“We have given chances to players who have done well in the domestic tournament as we want to build a good back-up for the Twenty20 World Cup,” chief selector Wahab Riaz said while announcing the squad.

The Twenty20 World Cup will be held in the West Indies and the United States in June next year.

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will skipper the side after Babar Azam stepped down as captain in all three formats following Pakistan’s exit from the 50-over World Cup.

Five-match series

The five-match New Zealand series will be played on January 12 (Auckland), January 14 (Hamilton), January 17 (Dunedin) and January 19 and 21 (Christchurch).

The squad includes wicketkeeper-batter Haseebullah Khan, fast bowler Abbas Afridi, and spinners Abrar Ahmed and Usama Mir, who have not played Twenty20 internationals before.

Sahibzada Farhan, who played three T20 internationals in 2018, earns a recall after being the top scorer in the last three editions of the national Twenty20 competition.

Also recalled is Azam Khan, who flopped in the five T20 internationals he has played in the last two years but has again played well at the domestic level.

Squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haseebullah Khan, Azam Khan, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan.