KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday announced the inclusion of Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Sami in the national squad for the upcoming Asia Cup and World T20 tournaments, while Khalid Latif made it only to the World T20 squad.

The changes in the national side were made due to the injuries sustained by Babar Azam and Rumman Raees during the on-going Pakistan Super League (PSL), making the players unavailable for either of the tournaments.

According to a press release issued by PCB, Babar Azam suffered a fracture on his left forearm during a practice session with Islamabad United, CT scans revealed.

The right-handed batsman will be back after around three to four weeks according to the doctors.

Azam’s United teammate Ruman Raees suffered a grade one hamstring strain and is working to regain his fitness.

“After having looked at the performance of the players in the PSL, the selection committee along with Captain Shahid Afridi and Head Coach Waqar Younis decided to include Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Sami as replacements for injured Babar Azam and Ruman Raees respectively for both Asia Cup and World Cup,” said Pakistan chief selector Haroon Rasheed.

Sharjeel scored a 117 off 62 balls in the third qualifying final of the PSL against a strong Peshawar Zalmi attack on Sunday while Mohammad Sami has taken six wickets, giving away just 23 runs in his last two PSL outings.

“Since we have options available to bring in changes in our World T20 squad before the support period starting from March 8, 2016, it has also been decided to use this option and include Khalid Latif, who showed tremendous display of power hitting in the PSL matches.

Khalid Latif also hit form recently and has piled 190 runs in eight PSL matches so far.

“Khalid Latif could not be made part of the Asia Cup squad due to some technical reasons but would join the squad for the World Cup,” added Rasheed. ‎

The Asia Cup and World T20 kick off on February 24 and March 16 respectively.

Opinion

Editorial

Energy shock
Updated 05 May, 2026

Energy shock

The longer the crisis persists, the more profound its consequences will be.
Unchecked HIV
05 May, 2026

Unchecked HIV

PAKISTAN’S HIV surge is no longer a slow-burning public health concern. It is now a system failure unfolding in...
PSL thrills
05 May, 2026

PSL thrills

BY the end of it all, in front of fans who had been absent for almost the entire 11th season of the Pakistan Super...
Interlinked crises
Updated 04 May, 2026

Interlinked crises

The situation vis-à-vis the US-Israeli war on Iran remains tense, with hostilities likely to resume if the diplomatic process fails.
Climate readiness
04 May, 2026

Climate readiness

AS policymakers gather for the Breathe Pakistan conference this week, the urgency is hard to miss. Each year, such...
Kalash preservation
04 May, 2026

Kalash preservation

FOR centuries, the Kalash people have maintained a culture, way of life, language and belief system that is uniquely...