Asif, Imad dropped as Pakistan announce 12-man squad for first Bangladesh T20I

Pakistan cricket team management has announced the squad for the first Twenty20 International against Bangladesh, excluding Imad Wasim and Asif Ali from the match, to be held at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Babar Azam will lead the side with Shadab Khan as vice-captain, the statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday. Meanwhile, Haider Ali and Khushdil Shah have been named in the 12-player squad.

Moreover, Sarfaraz Ahmed has also been excluded from the squad, and Mohammad Hafeez, who had pulled out of the series after consultation with the Chief Selector, will also not be playing the match.

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Earlier, skipper Babar Azam, in a pre-match press conference, had said that Pakistan will experiment with different combinations in six T20Is against Bangladesh and West Indies.

“As a captain, I have given confidence to the team. It will not be easy to score runs in Bangladesh like UAE. A batter has to make stay on the crease and save wickets initially.”

Pakistan’s 12-man squad:

Babar Azam (Captain)

Shadab Khan (Vice-Captain)

Fakhar Zaman

Haider Ali

Haris Rauf

Hasan Ali

Khushdil Shah

Mohammad Nawaz

Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper)

Mohammad Wasim Jr.

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Shoaib Malik

The second and third T20Is will also be played at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium on November 20, and 22. The T20I series will be followed by a two-match Test series. The matches will be played in Chittagong (November 26-30) and in Dhaka (December 4-8).