LAHORE: Mohammad Haris will lead Pakistan Shaheens in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup, which is set to start in Oman from October 18, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said while announcing the 15-man squad for the tournament on Monday.
The squad features some of the top performers of the recently concluded Champions One-Day Cup, including batter Abdul Samad and all-rounder Ahmed Daniyal.
The hard-hitting Samad scored at a strike-rate of 122.8 for runners-up Markhors, while Ahmed bagged 10 wickets for the Lions to add to his impressive knocks down the order with the bat.
Meanwhile, Pakistan international Zaman Khan and Yasir Khan, a promising opener at the domestic level, have also been called up to play for the Shaheens for the first time.
Before departing for Oman on Oct 16, the Shaheens squad will undergo a camp at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi from Oct 11-15.
Eight teams will participate in the event with four teams divided into two groups. All matches will take place at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat.
Pakistan have been drawn with India ‘A’, Oman and United Arab Emirates in Group ‘B’. Group A, meanwhile, will see Afghanistan ‘A’, Bangladesh ‘A’, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka ‘A’ play against each other.
The Shaheens will open their campaign with their match against India ‘A’ on Oct 19. They will play hosts Oman on Oct 21 before taking on UAE for their final group match on Oct 23.
The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled to take place on Oct 25. The final is set for Oct 27.
Pakistan Shaheens squad:
Mohammad Haris (captain), Abdul Samad, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Haseebullah Khan, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Imran Jr, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Moqim, Yasir Khan, Zaman Khan
Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2024
