LAHORE: Saad Baig will lead the 15-man Pakistan squad at the ICC U-19 World Cup, being staged from Jan 19 to Feb 11 in South Africa.

According to a statement issued by the Pakis­tan Cricket Board (PCB), Ali Asfand and Moham­mad Zeeshan, both of whom represented Pakis­tan in the previous U-19 World Cup hosted by West Indies in early 2022, are part of the squad.

Pakistan U-19 team were stunned by minnows United Arab Emirates by 11 runs in the Asia Cup semi-final staged in the UAE early this month.

Commenting on the squad, chairman of the junior selection committee Sohail Tanvir hoped the team would do well at the global event.

“I want to congratulate the 15 players who have made it into the squad for South Africa and I am confident that this well-balanced side has the capability and potential to perform well in the World Cup,” the PCB quoted Sohail as saying.

“While picking the team, we have considered the conditions in South Africa where the pitches are conducive to pace bowling and have aimed to cover all bases.”

The players of the World Cup squad will assemble in Lahore for a training camp, which will take place from Dec 28 to Jan 6.

Squad: Saad Baig (captain/wicket-keeper), Ali Asfand (vice-captain), Ali Raza, Ahmad Hassan, Amir Hassan, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Haroon Arshad, Khubaib Khalil, Mohammad Zeeshan, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Shamyl Hussain, Muhammad Riazullah, Ubaid Shah

Support staff: Shoaib Moha­mmad (manager), Mohammad Yousuf (head coach), Rehan Riaz (bowling coach), Mansoor Amjad (fielding coach), Moham­mad Masroor (assistant batting coach), Umer Rashid Dar (assistant coach), Hafiz Naeem-ul-Rasul (physio), Usman Hashmi (analyst) and Imranullah (stren­gth and conditioning coach).

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2023