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Pakistan cricket team's selection committee on Monday named Hussain Talat, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Asif Ali in the 15-member squad for the upcoming West Indies series, rewarding the trio for their impressive performances in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League 2018.
All-rounder Talat and middle-order batsman Asif were part of the Islamabad United side that defeated Peshawar Zalmi in the final of the T20 tournament on Sunday night.
Both performed admirably throughout the tournament but Asif Ali made bigger headlines, thanks to his match-winning 26-run clutch cameo in the title-deciding match.
Afridi, meanwhile, was one of the few bright spots of another miserable campaign for Lahore Qalandars.
The 17-year-old pacer bowled arguably the spell of the tournament when he took five wickets for just four runs in a match against Multan Sultans.
Quetta Gladiators fast bowler Rahat Ali also bowled with pace and venom, earning a recall to the national squad.
But there was no place for veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, who had an excellent tournament except the final, where he scored a solitary run and dropped a crucial catch.
Pakistan and West Indies will clash in a three-match T20I series between April 1 and 3. The back-to-back-to-back matches will be played at the National Stadium Karachi.
Full squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Usman Khan Shinwari, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
