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Pakistan Drops Babar, Rizwan for SL T20Is; Uncapped Nafay Gets Maiden Call

Pakistan has announced its T20I squad for the January series against Sri Lanka, notably omitting star players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi due to their Big Bash League commitments. Uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Khawaja Nafay has received his maiden national call-up following impressive performances in the Abu Dhabi T10. The selection appears focused on finalizing combinations ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup starting in February. Salman Ali Agha will captain a squad featuring returning all-rounder Shadab Khan for the three-match series in Dambulla.

Key Points: Pakistan T20I Squad: Babar, Rizwan Out vs Sri Lanka

  • Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen miss series
  • BBL commitments cited for absence
  • Khawaja Nafay earns maiden call-up
  • Squad experiments before T20 World Cup
2 min read

Babar, Rizwan left out, Khawaja Nafay earns maiden call-up in SL series

Pakistan announces T20I squad vs Sri Lanka without Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan & Shaheen Afridi. Uncapped Khawaja Nafay earns maiden call-up.

"The star trio will skip the series due to their franchise cricket commitments in Australia's Big Bash League. - ICC"

Islamabad, December 28

Pakistan's star batters Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan and pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi miss out as the T20I squad for the next month's T20I series against Sri Lanka was announced on Sunday.

The T20I series will be played from January 7-11. As per ICC, the star trio will skip the series due to their franchise cricket commitments in Australia's Big Bash Cricket League (BBL). Notably, all three have struggled in their stints so far, with Babar managing just 71 runs in four innings for Sydney Sixers, including just one fifty and three single-digit scores, Rizwan having scored just 36 runs across two innings for Melbourne Renegades, and Shaheen taking just two wickets in four matches at an average of 76.50 and an economy rate of 11.19, leaking runs left and right in Brisbane Heat colours.

On the other hand, uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Khawaja Nafay has earned his maiden Pakistan side call-up. Nafay recently featured in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament for Quetta Qavalry, scoring 178 runs in eight innings at an average of 44.50, with a fifty. He has scored 688 runs in 32 matches at an average of 23.72, with a strike rate of over 132, with seven fifties.

Nafay joins returning all-rounder Shadab Khan and skipper Salman Ali Agha as they look to try out some final combinations and tactics ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup that commences on February 7, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, starting from February 7 onwards. Pakistan is in Group A alongside India, Namibia, the Netherlands, and the USA and will start the tournament against the Netherlands in Colombo.

Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq

Series schedule:

First T20I, January 7, DambullaSecond T20I, January 9, DambullaThird T20I, January 11, Dambulla.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Good luck to Khawaja Nafay on his debut! Always exciting to see new talent. But honestly, as an Indian fan, my focus is on our own team's prep. Hope Pakistan figures out their combinations before they face us in the World Cup! 😄
A
Aman W
Franchise cricket over national duty? This is becoming a real problem. I respect the players' choices, but the timing is odd. The World Cup is in our backyard (India and SL), and they need all the match practice they can get. Their loss, I guess.
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Sarah B
From a neutral cricket-watcher's perspective, this is smart management. The core players are out of form, so why not try new faces? The pressure of an India-Pakistan World Cup match is huge. If their stars are low on confidence, it could benefit Team India.
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Vikram M
Shaheen's economy of 11+ in the BBL!? That's shocking. Our Indian batters would love to face him if he carries that form into the World Cup. Jokes aside, hope he finds his rhythm. Cricket is better with competitive bowling.
K
Karthik V
With all due respect to the new selections, this feels like a second-string Pakistan side. As an Indian supporter, I want to see our team beat them at their full strength. Makes the victory sweeter. Hope their main players are back for the World Cup clash.

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