Asad Shafiq to lead 14-man Pakistan A squad for the tour game against Australia

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named a 14-man squad which will play a first-class game against Australia ahead of the Test series. The four-day match will be played between September 29 and October 2 at Dubai’s ICC Academy. This will essentially be a practice match for the Australians, who will take on Pakistan in the first Test starting October 7 in Dubai once again. Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium will host the second Test.

The 14-man squad will be led by Asad Shafiq. It will also feature capped players such as Usman Salahuddin, Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali. Pakistan are however yet to announce their squad for the Test series against Australia. Tim Paine will lead the Australian side and some familiar faces will make a re-entry into Test cricket.

Paceman Peter Siddle has been given the nod, while Aaron Finch has also made the cut into the Australia Test side. Finch, who hasn’t represented Australia in a single Test match yet, was selected on the back of a great season in England for Surrey. The squad also includes the likes of Brendan Doggett, Jon Holland, Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser.

Pakistan A squad for the match against Australia:

Sami Aslam, Abid Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asad Shafiq (C), Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali, Agha Salman, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Waqas Maqsood, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Aamer Yami, Umaid Asif, Saud Shakeel

Pakistan in Asia Cup

The Pakistan team is currently in the UAE battling it out in the Asia Cup 2018. Although they kicked off the tournament in style with a win over Hong Kong, the Men in Green haven’t had the smoothest of runs – they’ve suffered two huge defeats against India in the tournament and managed to scrape to a victory against Afghanistan.

They now find themselves in a do-or-die situation where they face off against Bangladesh in what will be a virtual semi-final. The winner of that match will meet India in the final, which is scheduled to be played on Friday, September 28.

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