The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced its 15-player squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the USA and Caribbean from June 1 to 29. Babar Azam will lead the team. The squad includes Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Usman Khan.
The team was announced on Friday afternoon (UK time) after a two-hour meeting of the selection committee. The meeting was attended by Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Bilal Afzal, Gary Kirsten, Mohammad Yousuf, and Wahab Riaz. Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim last played in the 2016 and 2021 tournaments, respectively. The other eight players were part of the 2022 event in Australia.
This is a very talented and balanced team, combining youth and experience. The players have been playing together for a while and seem well-prepared and settled for next month’s event.
“Haris Rauf is fully fit and bowling well in practice. It would have been nice if he had played at Headingley, but we are confident he will continue to improve in the upcoming matches. He will play an important role along with other key bowlers in the T20 World Cup.”
Pakistan has an impressive record in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup since it began in 2007 in South Africa. The team won the 2009 event under Younis Khan and reached the finals twice under Shoaib Malik (2007) and Babar Azam (2022). In 2010, 2012, and 2021, it made it to the semi-finals.
Here is the revised schedule for Pakistan’s cricket matches:
Group Stage Matches:
June 6: Pakistan vs. USA at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas
June 9: Pakistan vs. India at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York
June 11: Pakistan vs. Canada at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York
June 16: Pakistan vs. Ireland at Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
Pakistan has been seeded as A2 for the first round. Should they advance to the Super Eight stage, their matches will be as follows:
Super Eight Matches:
June 19: Pakistan vs. D1 at Antigua
June 21: Pakistan vs. C2 at Barbados
June 23: Pakistan vs. B1 at Barbados