Pakistan to Field Four Debutants against Afghanistan in 1st T20I

image-lfmi13cpAFG vs PAK: Shadab Khan will lead Pakistan in Babar Azam's absence (Twitter)

After a successful edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2023), some of the top performers from the league have been chosen for the T20I series against Afghanistan to build their squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. Under Shadab Khan's leadership, at least four debutants are set to make their T20I debuts in Sharjah on Friday.

As confirmed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), PSL-famed Saim Ayub (Peshawar Zalmi), Ihsanullah (Multan Sultans), Zaman Khan (Lahore Qalandars) and Tayyab Tahir (Karachi Kings) are all set to make their debuts against the Rashid Khan-led side. 


Among the four debutants, Ihsanullah and Peshawar's opener, Ayub, were the most impressive. The former was the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 22 scalps from 12 innings, while the Zalmi batter had 341 runs to his name.

Apart from the debutants, the first T20I will also see the return of a couple of some big names. The veteran all-rounder Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf and Azam Khan will return to the Pakistan lineup.

For this series, the PCB has decided to rest the experienced pros, i.e. Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, etc. However, these top-flight players have been rested, as it is a World Cup year, and they will have a hectic schedule moving forward.


Pakistan XI vs Afghanistan

Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Abdullah Shafique, Tayyab Tahir, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Zaman Khan and Ihsanullah.