LAHORE: Thirty-one probables were named on Thursday to attend a training camp, starting in Lahore from Jan 4, to prepare the Pakistan team for the 2022 U-19 World Cup to be held in the West Indies.

The probables who are called up are born on or after Sept 1, 2002. They will attend a six-week camp in the first phase of the preparations.

Out of these 31 probables, 29 were selected by chief selector Saleem Jaffar on their performances in the last U-19 three and one-day competitions. The remaining two are Qasim Akram of Central Punjab and Balochistan’s Abdul Wahid Bangalzai. Both could not take part in the U-19 contests as they were featuring in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Pakistan have clinched the U-19 World Cup twice, winning back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2006.

As per the PCB Covid-19 protocols, the 31 players will undergo tests at their respective bases. Those returning negative will report at the NHPC on Dec 31, where they will undergo a second round of testing. Following the second negative test, the players will be allowed to integrate with the wider group and participate in the camp from Jan 4.

Pakistan junior head coach Ijaz Ahmed will assume charge of the camp when he returns from New Zealand with the Pakistan Shaheens squad.

Probables:

Batsmen: Abbas Ali (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdul Faseeh (Northern), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Balochistan), Aun Shehzad (Southern Punjab), Fahad Munir (Central Punjab), Maaz Sadaqat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Irfan Khan (Central Punjab), Mohammad Shehzad (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Waqas (Central Punjab), Mubashir Ali (Southern Punjab), Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) and Rizwan Mehmood (Sindh)

Wicket-keepers: Ghazi Ghori (Sindh), Haseebullah (Balochistan), Mohammad Raza-ul-Mustafa (Northern), Salman Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

Fast bowlers: Ahmed Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Asim Ali (Sindh), Aurangzeb (Balochistan), Awais Abbas (Southern Punjab), Muneeb Wasif (Central Punjab), Tahir Hussain (Southern Punjab), Zeeshan Zameer (Sindh)

Spinners: Adeel Meo (Sindh), Ali Asfand (Central Punjab), Aaliyan Mehmood (Sindh), Arham Nawab (Central Punjab), Faisal Akram (Southern Punjab), Ismail Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mehran Mumtaz (Northern) and Talha Ahsan (Sindh).

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2020