Pakistan announce 15-member T20 World Cup squad

KARACHI: Pakistan on Friday became the 20th and the last team to announce a 15-man squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in the United States and the West Indies next month.

Babar Azam will lead the squad with Pakistan facing the United States in their first match in Dallas on June 6, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday.

“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,” the PCB’s press release said.

It added that fast bowler Haris Rauf was fully fit and was bowling 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,” it added.

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Pakistan’s T20 World Cup Squad:

Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

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.

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.

Pakistan’s schedule of matches:

• June 6 – vs USA, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas

• June 9 – vs India, Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York

• June 11 – vs Canada, Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York

• June 16 – vs Ireland, Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida

Pakistan have been seeded A2 in the first round and if they qualify for the second round, then their Super Eight matches will be as follows:

• June 19 – vs D1, Antigua

• June 21– vs C2, Barbados

• June 23 – vs B1, Barbados