Srinagar: It what seemed to be a mere formality, Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday announced the 15-player Pakistan squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and Caribbean from 1-29 June. The side will be led by Babar Azam.
The side was confirmed on Friday afternoon following a two-hour selection committee meeting, which was attended by Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Bilal Afzal, Gary Kirsten, Mohammad Yousuf and Wahab Riaz.
Of the 15 players, Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan have been picked for their maiden T20 World Cup, while Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim last appeared in the 2016 and 2021 tournaments, respectively. The other eight players participated in the 2022 event in Australia.
“This is an extremely talented and balanced side that has a mixture of youth and experience. These players have been playing together for some time and look well prepared and settled for next month’s event.
“Haris Rauf is fully fit and bowling well in the nets. It would have been nice if he had gotten an outing at Headingley, but we remain confident that he will continue to maintain an upward trajectory in the upcoming matches, as he will have an important role to play along with other strike bowlers in the T20 World Cup.”
Pakistan has one of the most impressive records in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007 in South Africa. It won the 2009 event under Younis Khan and twice reached the finals under Shoaib Malik (2007) and Babar Azam (2022). In 2010, 2012, and 2021, it reached the last-four stage.
Squad:
Babar Azam (captain)
Abrar Ahmed
Azam Khan
Fakhar Zaman
Haris Rauf
Iftikhar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Mohammad Abbas Afridi
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Rizwan
Naseem Shah
Saim Ayub
Shadab Khan
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Usman Khan
No reserves have been announced.
Player support personnel: Wahab Riaz (senior team manager), Mansoor Rana (team manager), Gary Kirsten (head coach), Azhar Mahmood (assistant coach), Simon Helmot (fielding coach), David Reid (mental performance coach), Aftab Khan (high performance coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Irtaza Komail (chief security officer), Mohammad Imran (masseur), Mohammad Khurram Sarwar (team doctor), Talha Ijaz (analyst), Raza Kitchlew (media and digital manager) and Drikus Saaiman (strength and conditioning coach).
Pakistan has been seeded A2 in the first round and if they qualify for the second round, then their Super Eight matches will be as follows:
Pakistan’s schedule of matches:
6 June – vs USA, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas
9 June – vs India, Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York
11 June – vs Canada, Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York
16 June – vs Ireland, Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
19 June – vs D1, Antigua
21 June – vs C2, Barbados
23 June – vs B1, Barbados