LAHORE: Pakistan on Wednesday announced a 16-member squad for three T20Is against Sri Lanka in Lahore from October 5 to 9.
Pakistan have made three changes to the squad from the squad for one-day internationals against Sri Lanka at Karachi’s National Stadium.
Imam has been left out of the T20I side due to an injury in his left hand, which he sustained while fielding in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Monday. He is also unavailable for selection for the third ODI on Wednesday.
Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal and Faheem Ashraf replace Abid Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq.
Shehzad last featured in a T20I in June 2018 against Scotland, while Akmal’s last appearance in the same format was in September 2016 against the West Indies. Ashraf last played for Pakistan in a five-match away ODI series against England in May this year.
Pakistani batsman Ahmed Shehzad is raring to go when he makes his return to the international side in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
The batsman said that he is extremely excited after getting an opportunity to play cricket on home ground and in front of the home crowd. “It cannot get any bigger for me to be playing cricket in front of my people. Our people are passionate about the game. It unites us and people pray for our success.”
The top-order batsman believes that its not an easy task to make a comeback in the national side repeatedly as it doesn’t reflect well. He said, “It demands ticking a lot of boxes and for that a lot of improvement has to be made.”
The batsman says he wants to bring positivity in the dressing room by educating the youngsters and help them stay away from the mistakes that he made.
His last appearance for Pakistan was in a T20I game against Scotland at Edinburgh on June 13, 2018.
“I am thankful to the Almighty that I have gotten an opportunity to represent the Pakistan team once again,” the batsman was quoted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on its website. “This opportunity feels like I am wearing the Pakistan’s kit for the first time.”
