Babar will lead Pakistan's pack as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced 15-member squad for the upcoming ACC T20 Asia Cup 2022 which will be hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Shadab Khan will be seen in Babar's deputy role for the marquee tournament which is scheduled to kick off from August 27 and will sum up on September 11.
Meanwhile, Pakistan dropped the 2021's T20 World Cup's semifinal villain Hasan Ali and picked young tearaway Naseem Shah in his place while the injured Shaheen Shah Afridi has been retained in both squads.
PCB also announced their 16-player squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League fixtures against the Netherlands from August 16 to August 21.
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.
Pakistan squad for Netherlands ODIs: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mehmood.
Meanwhile, Asia Cup's schedule was also announced couple of days back. India will be kicking off their campaign in the high voltage clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 22. India's second clash will be against the qualifying team of Group A on August 31.
The Super 4 will begin on September 3 and will go on till September 9. The final of Asia Cup 2022 will be played on September 11.
Before the six-team tournament, four teams, UAE, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong – will take on each other in the qualifier round that will begin on August 20 and go on till August 26.
Asia Cup 2022 schedule
August 27 - Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan in Dubai, 7:30 PM
August 28 - India vs Pakistan in Dubai, 7:30 PM
August 30 - Bangladesh vs Afghanistan in Sharjah, 7:30 PM
August 31 - India vs Qualifier in Dubai, 7:30 PM
September 1 - Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh in Dubai, 7:30 PM
September 2 - Pakistan vs Qualifier in Sharjah, 7:30 PM
September 3 - B1 vs B2 in Sharjah, 7:30 PM
September 4 - A1 vs A2 in Dubai, 7:30 PM
September 6 - A1 vs B1 in Dubai, 7:30 PM
September 7 - A2 vs B2 in Dubai, 7:30 PM
September 8 - A1 vs B2 in Dubai, 7:30 PM
September 9 - B1 vs A2 in Dubai, 7:30 PM
September 11 - Final in Dubai, 7:30 PM
