Saud Shakeel to lead Pakistan team for Sri Lanka tour

Pakistani cricketer, Saud Shakeel will lead the Pakistan team for the tour of Sri Lanka, which will comprise 2 Test and 3 ODI matches in Kandy and Colombo from 28^th October to 14^th November.

Saud has played 3 ODI’s against England earlier this summer. With an eye on next year’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 in West Indies, the selectors have included in the squad Salman Khan and Qasim Akram.

Chief selector Muhammad Wasim said, “The objective and purpose of such tours is to reward, encourage, motivate and prepare high-performing cricketers for future challenges, while also developing and strengthening our bench-strength,”

“The average age of this squad is under 22 and includes players who have either been part of the national squads or are knocking at the doors of international cricket. The Sri Lanka tour will help these talented cricketers to further hone and polish their skills so that they are ready to perform at the international level.”

Pakistan squad:

Saud Shakeel (captain) (Sindh) (both formats)

Haider Ali (vice-captain) (Northern) (both formats)

Abbas Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (50-over)

Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab) (both formats)

Abrar Ahmed (Sindh) (both formats)

Ahmed Safi Abdullah (Central Punjab) (four-day)

Akif Javed (Balochistan) (50-over)

Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)

Irfanullah Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)

Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)

Khurram Shahzad (Balochistan) (both formats)

Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)

Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab) (both formats)

Omair Bin Yousuf (Sindh) (four-day)

Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) (both formats)

Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab) (both formats)

Salman Khan (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)

Usman Salahuddin (Southern Punjab) (four-day)

Zahid Mahmood (Sindh) (both formats)

Tour schedule:

21 Oct – departure for Kandy

28-31 Oct – 1st four-day match, Kandy

4-7 Nov – 2nd four-day match, Kandy

10 Nov – 1st 50-over match, Colombo

12 Nov – 2nd 50-over match, Colombo

14 Nov – 3rd 50-over match, Colombo