Rawalpindi [Pakistan], October 27 (ANI): Captain Salman Ali Agha is ‘excited’ to guide an ‘fascinating’ Pakistan aspect forward of the primary T20I of the three-match sequence in opposition to South Africa, scheduled to start on the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s squad is a mix of returning faces and new blood. Premier batter Babar Azam and tempo spearhead Naseem Shah have returned to the T20I squad. Proper-arm off-spinner Usman Tariq and wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan stand in competition to earn their first T20I cap for Pakistan. Salman is hopeful about having an amazing residence sequence months earlier than the T20 World Cup 2026.
‘I believe we now have a really fascinating and thrilling aspect, with a number of comebacks and some new faces as nicely. I’m very excited to guide this staff, and we actually hope to have an amazing sequence,’ Salman mentioned as quoted from Geo Information.
In its final residence T20I sequence, Pakistan hosted Bangladesh and sweeped the sequence 3-0 in Could. Since then, the Males in Inexperienced have struggled to discover a constant patch within the shortest format of cricket whereas making an attempt completely different combos and techniques. Pakistan toured Bangladesh in July and misplaced 2-1, however discovered the profitable momentum in opposition to the West Indies with a 2-1 sequence win in August.
Pakistan then engineered a T20I tri-series win over Afghanistan and the UAE, however floundered thrice in opposition to India and misplaced the Asia Cup crown. With Pakistan making an attempt to fine-tune its preparations for subsequent yr’s showpiece occasion, Salman is assured that his aspect is nice sufficient to beat any top-tier nation.
‘We had an amazing sequence in opposition to Bangladesh at residence, and I’m eager for good leads to the upcoming sequence as nicely. We simply need to execute our plans for an extended interval. As I all the time say, we now have an amazing staff — a staff that may beat any aspect. Clearly, South Africa are an excellent aspect; they’ve a number of misses, however nonetheless possess quite a lot of expertise,’ Salman added.
Pakistan T20I squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq. Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Moqim. (ANI)
