Kamal Ghorui
KARACHI: Pakistani selectors on Friday included fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi in the national T20 squad for the home series against Australia. The squad announced has no changes from the one that played earlier this month against Sri Lanka with the exception of Afridi’s return from a knee injury and Babar Azam coming back after his largely unsuccessful stint in the Big Bash League. Afridi had injured his knee while fielding during the Big Bash League in Australia and returned home for treatment at the high performance centre in Lahore. Australia are set to arrive in the country on January 28 and will play only their second series in the format on Pakistan soil after a solitary T20I in April 2022. The Pakistani selectors are yet to announce their final World Cup squad amid growing rumours of a possible pullout by the Pakistan board in support of the Bangladesh cricket board’s stance of not sending their team to India due to “security concerns”. Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq. Series schedule: (All matches at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore) 1st T20I – January 29 2nd T20I – January 31 3rd T20I – February 1. PTI
