Pakistan have dropped former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and the experienced duo of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez from the Twenty20 and Test squads for their upcoming tour of Australia.
After the embarrassing loss in the T20I series against a second-string Sri Lankan team at home, Sarfraz, 32, was stripped of his T20I and Test captaincy.
Meanwhile, the exclusion from the T20I squads could mean it is the end of the line for Malik and Hafeez, who have already retired from Test cricket.
The T20I squad, led by Babar Azam, has three new faces in 19-year-old seamer Muhammad Musa Khan, 24-year-old Khushdil Shah and 26-year-old leg-spinner Usman Qadir, the son of the late, great Abdul Qadir.
The lanky 37-year-old Mohammad Irfan, whose last T20I was during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup held in India three years ago, is also part of the squad.
All-rounder Kashif Bhatti and 16-year-old fast bowler Nasim Shah have earned maiden call-ups to the Test squad, which will be captained by Azhar Ali.
Chief Selector & Head Coach Misbah-ul-Haq opening statement from his press conference earlier today at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore announcing the T20I & Test squads for Australia Tour
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 21, 2019
More: https://t.co/hhxeaXr5QF
Complete press conference: https://t.co/TdnXxGxdjB pic.twitter.com/RYZbQh4z7r
Head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq insisted that playing youngsters would help the team to play an aggressive brand of cricket Down Under, adding that Usman Qadir’s experience of playing in the Big Bash League would come in handy during the tour.
“We need to play aggressive cricket to achieve better results there,” said Misbah. “We have some exciting youngsters in the pace squad who could be surprise packages.”
Pakistan’s fast bowling unit for Tests comprises three teenagers in Musa Khan, Nasim Shah and Shaheen Afridi along with the experienced Mohammad Abbas and Imran Khan. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah and left-arm spinner Bhatti are the only two spinners who made the cut for the Test squad.
Pakistan will play three Twenty20 internationals in Sydney (November 3), Canberra (November 5) and Perth (November 8). The two Tests will be in Brisbane (Nov 21-25) and Adelaide (Nov 29-Dec 03).
Squads
Twenty20: Babar Azam (captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khusdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Wahab Riaz, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir
Test: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan senior, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashid Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Nusa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
