Malik, Sarfaraz miss out as Pakistan announces T20 World Cup squad

Some experienced players failed to make the cut as chief selector Muhammad Wasim announced a forward-looking 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup that starts from October 17.

The same squad will play five T20Is against New Zealand this month and two T20Is against England next month at home.

The seven home T20Is in Lahore and Rawalpindi will be played between September 25 and October 14, before Pakistan proceeds to take on India in a battle of the former champions in their T20 World Cup opener in Dubai on October 24.

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Led by Babar Azam, with Shadab Khan as deputy, the squad does not feature experienced campaigners including Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Fakhar Zaman.

In their place, the chief selector has included Asif Ali, Azam Khan and Khushdil Shah.

Asif, who averages just over 16 in 29 T20I appearances for Pakistan, and Shah, with an average of 21 in nine games, were sidelined after their poor run in the series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.

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Opener Sharjeel Khan, who had a successful run at the recently-concluded Kashmir Premier League (KPL), has also been excluded along with Arshad Iqbal, Faheem Ashraf, Zaman and Usman Qadir.

Fakhar, Usman and Shahnawaz Dahani, however, have been added as the three travelling reserves.

The 15-man squad

Babar Azam (captain)

Shadab Khan (vice-captain)

Asif Ali

Azam Khan (wicketkeeper)

Haris Rauf

Hasan Ali

Imad Wasim

Khushdil Shah

Mohammad Hafeez

Mohammad Hasnain

Mohammad Nawaz

Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper)

Mohammad Wasim Jnr

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Sohaib Maqsood

Traveling reserves – Fakhar Zaman, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Usman Qadir