‘Excited to lead young team’ says Shadab on his captaincy appointment

LAHORE: Newly-appointed Pakitan captain for the three T20Is against Afghanistan in Sharjah later this month, Shadab Khan, said he was very excited to lead a young team in the upcoming series.  

Shadab, who will lead a new-look T20I side in the absence of regular captain Babar Azam, expressed that he would try to do justice with the role with his performance and abilities.

Along with Babar, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi are also given rest while four uncapped players, namely, Ihsanullah, Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir and Zaman Khan have been included in the squad.

Whereas, Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim have been recalled to the national T20I side.

“I am grateful to  Almighty Allah for giving me this opportunity,” said Shadab in an interview shared by Pakistan Cricket Board on their official Twitter account on Tuesday.

“This is a big responsibility as I will be leading a nation of 220 million people and I will try my best to do justice with it with all the ability that I have.”

The new captain congratulated the youngsters who received their maiden call-up to the national side, saying, “it is exciting to lead a young team since it is full of energy.”

“I will try to take the energy from the young players and translate it into my own performance,” he added.

It may be noted here that the three-match series between Pakistan and Afghanistan will commence on March 24, while the remaining two T20Is will be played on March 25 and March 27. All the matches will be played in Sharjah.

Squad: Shadab Khan (c), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan.

Reserves: Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah, Usama Mir