Srinagar: Pakistan T20 skipper Salman Ali Agha has said that Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi remain in the Pakistan team’s core group of 25 players for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played next year in India and Sri Lanka.
Agha, while addressing the media on the sidelines of the white-ball and pre-Bangladesh series camp, was asked about the future of the senior trio, who were left out of the Pakistan squad for the upcoming series, set to be played in Dhaka from July 20 to 24.
Babar and Rizwan’s most recent T20I appearances came in the national team’s away series against South Africa in December last year, while Shaheen was a part of the squad that toured New Zealand for a five-match series in March.
“We need to have players who can replace anyone at any given time and thus we are preparing our bench strength,” said Agha.
“As part of our plan for the future [assignments], we have shortlisted a pool of 25 players and those 25 players will be seen playing for the team until the T20 World Cup.
“Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are senior players and they are part of the pool.”
Agha also touched on Mohammad Nawaz’s inclusion in the squad for the upcoming away series as the all-rounder’s selection drew criticism due to his below-par performances in the domestic circuit and the previous two editions of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
“Nawaz was selected because of Shadab’s injury. Performance goes up and down, that’s why it is important to analyse the ability of a player,” Agha stated.