Shadab Khan’s name is back on a Pakistan team sheet. The leg-spinning allrounder, fresh from his stint with Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash, has been selected for January’s three-match T20I series in Dambulla. It’s the only competitive cricket Pakistan have scheduled before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, so every spot matters.
Shadab hasn’t played for Pakistan since June, when he took four wickets and chipped in with 55 runs against Bangladesh. A troublesome right shoulder forced surgery soon after, and the 25-year-old only returned to action on 16 December. Pakistan’s medical staff say the shoulder has responded well; the selectors clearly agree.
There is also a first call-up for Khawaja Nafay. The 23-year-old right-hander, who keeps wicket when required, impressed during the Abu Dhabi T10 and with the Pakistan Shaheens. Thirty-two T20 matches, 688 runs, strike-rate 132.81 – not eye-popping numbers, yet enough to earn a look.
Strikingly, none of the other Pakistan regulars currently in the BBL – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf or Hasan Ali – have been picked. Selectors have not offered a public explanation, though workload management before a World Cup springs to mind.
Fixtures – all in Dambulla
7 January: 1st T20I
9 January: 2nd T20I
11 January: 3rd T20I
Squad
Salman Agha (capt), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq.
Quick thoughts
• Shadab’s return adds balance: a proven wrist-spinner who can bat at No. 7.
• Nafay’s selection suggests the coaches want a spare keeper-bat beyond Rizwan.
• Leaving out Babar and Shaheen might look drastic, yet both have heavy schedules and little to prove in this format.
Pakistan will travel straight after the New Year break, giving them only a handful of training sessions in Sri Lankan conditions. With the World Cup barely a month away, places are still open – but time is running out to claim them.
