
Pakistan drop stars Shaheen, Azam and Rizwan for Bangladesh T20s
Babar Azam, pictured playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, has been dropped along with Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson will take charge for the first time after being appointed last week, replacing Aaqib Javed.
Salman Ali Agha will captain Pakistan as they look towards next year's Twenty20 World Cup, to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Fast bowler Shaheen had played in Pakistan's last T20 series in New Zealand in March, but batsmen Azam and Rizwan were omitted for the second consecutive T20 series after being criticised for slow scoring.
"The squad has been selected based on players' performances in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, which concludes on May 25," the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement.
Shaheen has taken 12 wickets for Lahore Qalandars in 10 PSL matches at an economy rate of 8.20.
Opener Sahibzada Farhan earned a recall after topping the PSL batting charts with 394 runs.
Batsmen Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman return after missing the New Zealand tour with injuries.
Fast bowler Hasan Ali is back after being sidelined with multiple injuries since May last year.
The PCB said that the matches, which have been affected by a 10-day delay to the PSL caused by the deadly India-Pakistan conflict, will be held in Lahore on May 28, 30 and June 1.
Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub
© 2025 AFP
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