Pakistan announce truncated 12-man squad for India clash

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), a day ahead of their much-anticipated T20 World Cup 2021 clash against India in Dubai, have announced a truncated 12-man squad, and have left out wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed, young seamer Mohammad Wasim Jr and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz. 

The 12-man squad interestingly includes the name of 21-year-old batsman Haider Ali, who did not feature in any of Pakistan’s two warm-up matches against South Africa and West Indies. Ali had finished as the fifth-highest run-getter in the recently-concluded National T20 Cup, and it remains to be seen if the right-hander will be thrust into the playing XI as a surprise pick.

With three seamers - Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf - being named as a part of the 12, and with Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim both expected to start, the only contentious spot is a vacant middle-order spot. With Mohammad Hafeez and Fakhar Zaman pretty much expected to be locks in the XI, the management would, in all likelihood, take a late call between Shoaib Malik and Haider Ali.

Pakistan’s 12-man squad for the India clash

Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf