LAHORE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam will sit out for the side’s upcoming three-match Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan with Shadab Khan set to lead a new-look 15-man squad, which was named by chief selector Haroon Rasheed here on Monday.

According to Haroon, Babar was “rested” along with core members of the national squad in batters Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman and pacers Shah­een Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf to protect the players

from potential injuries given the jam-packed nature of the cricket calendar.

Their exclusion, however, has paved the way for the uncapped batters Saim Ayub and Tayyab Tahir and pacers Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan — after the quartet’s impressive show in the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League.

Based on their PSL performances, all-rounders Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf and batters Azam Khan and Abdullah Shafique, have also earned a return to the Pakistan camp.

Only six players have been retained from the side’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad, which featured in the showpiece’s final against England last year.

The wholesome changes, however, are solely meant to give much-needed exposure to the high-performing players in the domestic circuit, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s interim Management Commi­ttee chairman Najam Sethi, who flanked Haroon during the squad announcement press conference.

Sethi suggested status quo will resume in future assignments against stronger sides and that Babar and the other dropped senior players were taken on board for the decision.

“I spoke to all the senior players taking them in confidence about resting them for the Afghanistan series,” said Sethi. “Babar is our captain and an asset so... you will see him return in the next series.”

For Shadab, 24, it will be the second opportunity to lead Pakistan in T20s, the last being a 2-1 loss in a three-match series against New Zealand in December 2020, when Babar missed out through injury.

“The selection committee has followed the standard rotation policy by resting the leading performers and providing high-performing domestic performers with opportunities to demonstrate their talent and potential at the international level,” said Haroon.

“This will also allow us to test the temperament and abilities of these players and helping us to strengthen our pool of players as we look forward to building and preparing a formidable side for next year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States.”

‘BABAR IS MY CAPTAIN’

After the Sethi-led Manage­ment Committee took over the PCB’s reigns following the ouster of former chairman Ramiz Raja, Babar was subjected to criticism by few experts for his approach as captain.

The criticism fueled speculations over the batter’s future as the Pakistan skipper. The last few days saw Shaheen’s name emerge as the potential captain for the Afghanistan T20s, a move that Ramiz feared would “pit” Pakistan’s core players “against each other over captaincy battle”

On Sunday night, Shaheen posted a photo from a recent Test match featuring himself Babar and Rizwan on Twitter. Sethi said the speculations were “disappointing”.

“I am clear in my mind that Babar is my captain but it is the media which is creating speculation,” he said. “Presently, Babar is the perfect player to lead Pakistan.”

Sethi, however, hinted that the PCB would not refrain from exploring the possibility of reducing the load of responsibility from Babar’s shoulders as Pakistan’s all-format captain.

“.. but, as in the world there is a trend of having different captains for different formats, so we will also see as we go along,” he observed. “I will retain Babar as captain until he himself asks me to relieve him [as captain] from one format or the other.”

After the March 24, 26 and 27 T20s against Afghanistan, Pakistan will host New Zealand for five T20s and as many ODIs before flying out to Sri Lanka for two Test matches.

With the 50-over World Cup set to be held in India later this year and the Asia Cup scheduled to take place before that, managing the players’ workload may well be the need of the hour.

Squad: Shadab Khan (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2023