Pakistan selectors have ruled out any role for senior players — Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi — in the team’s upcoming T20 series against West Indies and Bangladesh.
The Pakistani selectors including Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq are likely to announce the T20 squad for the series in the West Indies and Bangladesh next week. The two series will be played in July-August.
The selectors and head coach Mike Hesson have already conveyed to Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen that they are not required for the upcoming T20 series and should focus more on the ICC World Test Championship and ODIs.
Pakistan is due to tour the West Indies in the last week of July to play three T20 internationals and three ODIs.
Pakistan, after playing in the Caribbean, fly to Bangladesh for a three match T20 series but suggestions have been made to convert into a five match series in August.
Pakistan is also due to host Afghanistan for a T20 series in late August, all in preparation for the Asia Cup in September (not confirmed as yet) and early next year’s ICC World T20 Cup.
A source close to a national selector said that the panel and Hesson wanted to give a proper run to the new young players in the T20 squad in the series ahead.
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“The idea is that if things go south then the selectors can always go back to Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen.” Ironically, Shaheen has now led the Lahore Qalandars franchise to its third Pakistan Super League title in five years.
Babar on the other hand is set to announce a first time appearance in the Big Bash for Sydney Sixers later this week after the board gave him and some other players NOCs to play in the event between December 28 and late January.
The three seniors have not been picked in the national T20 squad for Pakistan’s last two series against New Zealand and Bangladesh and even before that Babar was overlooked for T20 series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.