Pakistan named a 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I assignments on Monday.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Wasim Khan on Wednesday (September 7) quashed the reports of Babar Azam being unhappy with the national squad selected for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 by saying the captain is fully behind the direction being taken to take Pakistan cricket forward.
After Pakistan announced a 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2021 earlier this week, several reports suggested that Babar is not happy with the squad, but the PCB CEO claimed that the reports are “factually incorrect” and Pakistan captain is also on the same page.
Wasim said in an official PCB release: “It has come to our notice that factually incorrect reports are circulating about the Pakistan national squad environment. The squad for the upcoming international assignments has been announced and our captain Babar Azam is fully behind the direction that is being taken.”
The PCB CEO added, “On Tuesday afternoon, some of the players had a healthy and positive meeting with former Pakistan captain and member of the PCB Board of Governors, Ramiz Raja, in which there was a consensus on the brand of cricket that needs to be played in the upcoming series and beyond.”
He concluded, “It is important that collectively we get firmly behind the squad so that they have the stability, backing, and focus they need prior to going into the ICC T20 World Cup next month.”
Here’s the Pakistan squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, England, and for the T20 World Cup:
Babar Azam (C), Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Azam Khan (WK), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
(With ANI Inputs)