LAHORE – Pakistan on Saturday announced 15-member T20 squad for the three-match series against South Africa starting February 1.
Mohammad Amir returns to the side, replacing Waqas Maqsood for the series against South Africa. The 26-year-old left-arm was left out of the limited-overs and Test squads after a poor showing in last year’s Asia Cup but was brought back into both for the ongoing tour of South Africa.
Pakistan, who are currently playing a five-match one-day series in South Africa, will play T20 matches in Cape Town on February 1, Johannesburg on February 3 and at Centurion on February 6.
Announcing the squad, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, said: “Once again, the selectors have gone ahead with the policy of maintaining consistency and retaining a winning combination.”
“While our focus is very much on this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup, we cannot forget that the ICC T20 World Cup is in Australia in the second half of 2020. So, we need to give as much exposure and experience to our up and coming players as possible, but without compromising on the assignments in hand,” he added.
Pakistan are ranked number one in T20 internationals and have won nine consecutive matches as well as a world record 17 out of 19 T20Is they played last year.
Pakistan squad for T20 series
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain/wicketkeeper), Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Usman Shinwari
T20 series schedule
February 1 – 1st T20I, Cape Town
February 3 – 2nd T20I, Johannesburg
February 6 – 3rd T20I, Centurion
