England vs Pakistan: Naseem Shah, Haider Ali earn call-ups as visitors name 17-man squad for T20Is

Teenage tearaway pacer Naseem Shah was on Friday included in Pakistan’s 17-member squad announced for the three T20Is against England beginning on 28 August. The 17-year-old, who has played six Tests so far, is yet to make his white-ball debut for Pakistan. [caption id=“attachment_8739121” align=“alignleft” width=“640”]  File image of Naseem Shah. AP[/caption] Besides Naseem, Pakistan also included 19-year-old batsman Haider Ali, who performed well in the U-19 side, first-class cricket and Pakistan Super League. Babar Azam, who lead the team to a T20 series win against Bangladesh earlier this year, will continue to captain the side in the upcoming series which will conclude on 1 September. Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, a wicket-keeper batsman, has also been named in the squad. Experienced pacers Mohammad Amir, who had withdrawn from the tour due to the birth of his second child, and Wahab Riaz also return to the side, along with batsman Fakhar Zaman. All-rounder Shoaib Malik, who arrived in England on 12 August, has also been named in the squad and will be joining his colleagues after clearing the COVID-19 tests. “This is mostly the same team which has been featuring in the shortest format for us. Besides retaining the core, we have inducted youngsters like Haider Ali … and Naseem Shah as we had an opportunity to keep a bigger pool due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said in PCB media release. “Usually, the T20I team comes together for a brief period but due to the current situation most of the players have been here with us for more than a month and it has provided us a good opportunity to work on the development of the team and the young players.” “So, even the players who might not get an opportunity to play will benefit from the experience they are getting here,” added the former skipper, who is also Pakistan’s chief selector. The three T20Is are scheduled to be held on 28, 30 August and 1 September in Manchester. Pakistan squad for England T20Is: Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz.