The Pakistan T20I team will play a three-match series against Bangladesh starting November 19. Pakistan will play Bangladesh for the first time in six years in a bilateral series. Their last visit to Bangladesh was in 2015 when they were defeated in both the ODI and T20I series. PCB has already announced an 18-man Twenty20 squad for the forthcoming BAN vs. PAK 2021 series. Veteran cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has withdrawn from the competition. Apart from that, the team contains all of the expected names. Let’s have a look at Pakistan’s squad for the T20 series against Bangladesh.
Pakistan’s T20 Team for the Bangladesh Series 2021
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced their T20I lineup for the next series against Bangladesh on Monday (November 8). The visitors will play three T20 matches and two Test matches against the hosts.
Pakistan’s selectors picked all of the players of the 2021 World Cup squad except for all-rounder Mohammad Hafez. He dropped out of the 2021 World Cup team to create room for the younger players.
Batting all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed, leg-spinner Usman Qadir, and medium-pacer Shahnawaz Dahani were named in the team by the selectors.
Iftikhar Ahmed last played for Pakistan against South Africa in February of this year. He is a solid middle-order batsman who can also bowl. It’s no surprise that he was chosen in place of Mohammad Hafeez. Iftekhar has 212 runs and a 130.86 strike rate in 11 innings thus far.
Leg-spinner Usman Qadir has played 16 T20Is for Pakistan. He has 20 wickets at a strike rate of 13.2. He played the West Indies series in August but was left out of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad.
On the other hand, Pacer Dahani has impressed everyone with his extreme accuracy during the PSL 2021. He has 29 wickets in 18 T20 matches but has yet to play for Pakistan national team.
Pakistan Squad:
Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), Usman Qadir, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani
Probable Pakistan XI (first match)
Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Usman Qadir
BAN vs. PAK 2021: T20I Series Fixture
BCB has opted to hold the T20 series in the SBNCS, Mirpur, in order to maintain a better covid-19 health protocol. However, one of the Test matches will be held at ZACS in Chattogram. All the T20I matches will begin at 6.30 p.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time).
T20I Fixtures
1st Match: 19/11/2021 | 2nd Match: 20/11/2021 | 3rd Match: 22/11/2021
Verdict
Bangladesh have faced Pakistan in a total of 12 matches in the T20 format. However, they have only won twice against them and have lost the remaining ten matches. Bangladesh won both the games at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur. Team Tigers will be looking to deploy all of their strength during the BAN vs. PAK 2021 series despite their dismal performance in the T20 World Cup 2021. Bangladesh recently won two bilateral series at home, one against Australia and the other against New Zealand. Therefore, the squad will be more confident in their ability to play better against a strong Pakistan national team. Given the current form of both sides, this will be a huge challenge for Bangladesh.
Source: United News of Bangladesh