Pakistan has added Saud Shakeel to its squad for the 2023 Asia Cup. Tayyab Tahir, who was originally named to the 17-man squad, has been omitted but will travel with the travelling reserves.
Shakeel has played in only five ODIs to date, but he has had an impressive start to his Test career. In seven Tests, he has accumulated six fifties and two hundreds, including a match-winning 208* against Sri Lanka in Galle after the top order of Pakistan was dismissed by the home spinners. In List A matches, he has scored 2489 runs at an average of 44.
Shakeel participated in the final ODI against Afghanistan, in which he scored 9 of 6 runs before being run out. Sunday, he will travel with the team to Multan.
On Sunday, the Asia Cup-bound players who competed against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka will assemble in Multan.
Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, and Naseem Shah will travel to Lahore on Sunday and join the team on Monday evening, according to a PCB press release.
On August 30 in Multan, Pakistan is scheduled to play Nepal in the Asia Cup’s opening match.
Pakistan Asia Cup squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim.
