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Pakistan's star batters Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan and pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi miss out as the T20I squad for the next month's T20I series against Sri Lanka was announced on Sunday.
The T20I series will be played from January 7-11. As per ICC, the star trio will skip the series due to their franchise cricket commitments in Australia's Big Bash Cricket League (BBL). Notably, all three have struggled in their stints so far, with Babar managing just 71 runs in four innings for Sydney Sixers, including just one fifty and three single-digit scores, Rizwan having scored just 36 runs across two innings for Melbourne Renegades, and Shaheen taking just two wickets in four matches at an average of 76.50 and an economy rate of 11.19, leaking runs left and right in Brisbane Heat colours. On the other hand, uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Khawaja Nafay has earned his maiden Pakistan side call-up. Nafay recently featured in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament for Quetta Qavalry, scoring 178 runs in eight innings at an average of 44.50, with a fifty. He has scored 688 runs in 32 matches at an average of 23.72, with a strike rate of over 132, with seven fifties. Nafay joins returning all-rounder Shadab Khan and skipper Salman Ali Agha as they look to try out some final combinations and tactics ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup that commences on February 7, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, starting from February 7 onwards. Pakistan is in Group A alongside India, Namibia, the Netherlands, and the USA and will start the tournament against the Netherlands in Colombo. Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq Series schedule: First T20I, January 7, DambullaSecond T20I, January 9, DambullaThird T20I, January 11, Dambulla. (ANI)
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