Pakistan announces squad for the T20Is against West Indies

Scintillating performance in the National T20 Cup has earned Umar Akmal his international comeback after he was named in the 15 man squad for the upcoming series against West Indies in the UAE. The right-hand middle order batsman grabbed attention with his sparkling century off 43 balls for Lahore Whites against Rawalpindi Rams (joint fastest for his team).

Disciplinary issues saw Akmal lose his place in the team. But his recent performances have been hard to ignore. Pakistan team selector Tauseef Ahmed had dropped hints about his return earlier when he stated that Akmal has proved through his performance that he can be selected in all three formats. He had said that Umar Akmal’s performances in the National T20 Cup came under notice.

Other than him, 26-year-old all-rounder Saad Nasim and 24-year-old fast bowler Rumman Raees get opportunities to prove their worth. Both Saad and Rees have been in great form in the domestic tournaments.

Saad has a bit of international experience having made his international debut back in 2015 against Bangladesh at Dhaka. He played 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is before losing place in the team. Raees, on the other hand, is yet to make his debut.

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The rest of the team is the same unit which played against England in the T20Is at Cardiff a few days ago. Sarfraz Ahmed will be leading the team. The attacking duo of Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif, who smothered the Englishmen in the only T20I at Cardiff, also retain their place. Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan and veteran Shoaib Malik are the all-rounders in the team. The fast bowling attack also remains the same.

Pakistan Squad

Sarfaraz Ahmed (C), Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Muhammad Nawaz, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Saad Nasim, Rumaan Raees.