Pakistan announce 15-member squad for T20 World Cup; no place for Shoaib Malik

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup scheduled from October 17 in UAE. There are no major surprises in the squad and the core of the team is the same that played against England and West Indies recently. The team will be led by Babar Azam and will boast of regular names like Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez.

Sohaib Maqsood, who had a brilliant season of the PSL, scoring 428 runs at a strike rate of 156.78, has also been drafted into the squad. Also, the likes of Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf and Azam Khan are part of the group. Pakistan have named three reserve players - Fakhar Zaman, Shahnawaz Dhani and Usman Qadir, who will travel with the squad.

Meanwhile, veteran batsman Shoiab Malik and former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed have been sidelined. It is reported that Babar Azam was in favour of Malik’s selection owing to his immense experience but the selectors did not consider Babar's opinion. Sarfaraz, on the other hand, has passed his prime and it seems the board has moved on from the former skipper.

Pakistan will open their campaign against India in a riveting contest on October 24.

Here’s Pakistan’s squad for T20 World Cup: Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood.