20-20 World Cup 2022: Pakistan announce 15-member squad, Shaheen Afridi returns

Pakistan (Image Source: Twitter)

Pakistan toiled hard in the nets for the Asia Cup 2022 and won all the matches in the tournament barring the first and the last two. The team faced India in the first match of the group stage and lost it. The Men in Green bounced back and kept winning until they met Sri Lanka in the finals.

Pakistan was disappointed in the finals of the tournament on the back of a poor strike rate from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. However, the duo will don the jersey for the Pakistan team in the 20-20 World Cup as they can never be ruled out. The former will continue his stint as the skipper.

Mohammad Nawaz, who impressed with the ball and bat, retains his spot for the 20-20 World Cup 2022. Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah and Shadab Khan will board the flight to Australia alongside Mohammad Rizwan.

But the most awaited news was the arrival of Shaheen Shah Afridi, and the pacer is back into the Pakistan squad. After being ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022, the young pacer has stormed back into the squad in style for the mega event in Australia.

Shan Masood is a surprise addition to the Pakistan squad while Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf have retained their spots. The duo performed really well with the ball for Pakistan in the continental tournament and will look to create havoc in Australia as well.

Pakistan squad for the 20-20 World Cup 2022

Pakistan’s 20-20 World Cup 2022 squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir

Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani

The skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will look to improve their strike rate in the tournament. The duo will be a key factor for the team and they’ll look to play with aggressive intent. Haider Ali and Asif Ali will be integral parts of the team as well.

Another twist in the tale was the exclusion of Fakhar Zaman. One might understand that it might be because of his injury and would hope to return to full fitness at the earliest.