KARACHI: The uncapped trio of Hussain Talat, Asif Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi were named on Monday in Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 International series against the West Indies in Karachi.

Hussain, the 22-year-old left-handed batsman from Lahore and the 26-year-old Faisalabad-born right-handed batsman Asif were rewarded for their fine performances for Islamabad United who defeated Peshawar Zalmi in Sunday’s final of the HBL Pakistan Super League champions at the National Stadium.

Shaheen, the 17-year-old left-arm paceman, made his T20 debut during the just-ended PSL and bagged seven wickets in as many matches for Lahore Qalandars, who finished bottom of the piles for the third season running.

The national selection committee, headed by Inzamam-ul-Haq, also included Rahat Ali after the 29-year-old’s consistent showing for Quetta Gladiators in the PSL in which he claimed 15 wickets in 11 matches and finished as the fourth highest wicket-taker with 15 victims.

Usman Khan Shinwari, one of four left-arm pacemen in the squad, has been recalled to the national team after recovering from injury and picking up 16 wickets for Karachi Kings.

Islamabad United’s left-arm seamer Rumman Raees and Karachi Kings skipper Imad Wasim were not considered for selection since both are recovering from injuries sustained during the PSL.

Sarfraz Ahmed-led Pakistan, who are currently the top-ranked side in the ICC T20 team rankings, take on current World T20 champions West Indies in back-to-back matches here at the National Stadium on April 1, 2 and 3.

The visitors, meanwhile, have yet to announce their squad for the coming series.

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain

Talat, Fahim Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Usman Khan Shinwari, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2018