Babar, Shaheen return for Australia T20Is

Babar, Shaheen return for Australia T20Is

Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have returned to Pakistan's T20 squad ahead of the upcoming World Cup. The selectors have picked the duo for the home series against Australia, which will serve as Pakistan's final international preparation for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Babar, Shaheen, Mohammad Rizwan, and Haris Rauf were not selected for Pakistan's previous series against Sri Lanka. All four players featured in the Big Bash League, where Rauf had a successful season, while Babar, Rizwan, and Shaheen struggled in their maiden stints. Shaheen left the tournament early due to injury.

Pakistan have already named their squad for the World Cup. With Babar and Shaheen back, the chances of Rizwan and Rauf making the final 15-member squad appear slim, as they were not selected for these three T20Is against Australia.

Shadab Khan retains his place in the squad, which is led by Salman Agha. Khawaja Nafay, who impressed on debut earlier this month, keeps his spot and could be in contention as the first-choice wicketkeeper.

The matches are scheduled for January 29, 31, and February 1, all at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq.