By – Aditi Gupta
A group of 15 players has been announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the forthcoming T20 World Cup. Babar Azam will act as the team’s captain for the next ICC competition. Gary Kirsten will lead the team as head coach. All-rounder Imad Wasim and fast bowler Mohammad Aamir are again in this squad. Five players will be seen participating in this competition for the first time at the same time. The West Indies and America will share co-hosting duties for this year’s T20 World Cup. It is expected to begin on June 2.
Four batsmen, two wicketkeepers, three spin all-rounders, one spinner, and five fast bowlers make up Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad. There are four specialist batsmen: Usman Khan, Babar Azam, Sam Ayub, and Fakhar Zaman. In addition, there are three spin all-rounders (Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, and Shadab Khan), one specialist spinner (Abrar Ahmed), five fast bowlers (Haris Rauf, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Aamir), and two wicketkeeper batsmen (Azam Khan and Rizwan). This team hasn’t disclosed a reserve, though.
For 5 of the 15 players—Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Abbas Afridi, Sam Ayub, and Usman Khan—this will be their first T20 World Cup. Aamir and Imad played for Pakistan in the T20 World Cups in 2016 and 2021 at the same time. The remaining players competed in the T20 World Cup in 2022. Regarding Harris’s fitness, the PCB stated that he is bowling in the nets at full speed and is fully fit. He’ll be the team’s strike bowler. Under the captaincy of Shoaib Malik in 2007 and Babar Azam in 2022, the Pakistani team made it to the championship game twice. Under Younis’s leadership, the team won the championship in 2009 at the same time.
On June 6, Pakistan’s team will play the United States to start their campaign. On June 9, they will play India in New York. Ireland on June 16 and Canada on June 11 will be the team’s rivals. The team’s matches on June 19, June 21, and June 23 will take place if they advance to the Super-8, or second round.