Hasan, Sarfaraz dropped as Pakistan announce limited overs squads for West Indies series

Pakistan announced on Thursday its Twenty20 International (T20I) and One-Day International (ODI) squads for the home series against West Indies — which will be played in Karachi from December 13-22 — dropping pace bowler Hasan Ali and former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed from both formats.

According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), from the 18 players who were part of the recently-concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik have been left out, while fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been added to the 15-man squad for the coming 20-over matches against West Indies.

Likewise, from the 17 players who were selected for ODI matches against England in July, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Wasim junior have replaced Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha and Sarfaraz Ahmed, while Abdullah Shafique has been named as a travelling reserve, the statement said.

The statement quoted chief selector Muhammad Wasim as saying: "As we have been playing T20Is since October and now have a pretty settled and balanced side, we have decided to reduce the number of players to 15. As such, we have not included Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik."

“For the ODIs, which we last played in July, we have accepted the team management’s request and provided them two additional resources," he said, adding that in consultation with Hasan Ali and taking into consideration that he had been playing non-stop cricket since returning from a back injury, it had been decided to give him time off from this series.

The home series against West Indies is the first one being held in the country after New Zealand and England pulled out of tours to Pakistan in September this year over security concerns.

The developments had disappointed and angered Pakistanis fans and drew a strong reaction from PCB Chairperson Ramiz Raja who had gone on to say that Pakistan felt “used and then binned”.

The PCB had then announced the home series against WI in November, just days after the England and Wales Cricket Board chief announced that England would tour Pakistan in 2022.

Pakistan T20I squad: