Lahore: Middle-order batter Saud Shakeel will lead Pakistan Shaheens as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces a 19-member squad for the next month’s tour of Sri Lanka.

Shaheens will reach Sri Lanka on October 21 followed by their first four-day contest from October 28. The second contest will be played from November 4. Three 50-overs matches will be played on November 10, 12, and 15.

Among 19 players, 14 have been selected for both formats while three (Omair bin Yusuf, Usman Salahuddin, Ahmed Safi Abdullah) have been picked for four-day only while two (Arshad Iqbal, Akif Javed) will be part of 50-over matches

Squad: Saud Shakeel (c), Haider Ali, Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Abbas Afridi, Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Akif Javed, Arshad Iqbal, Irfanullah Shah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shehzad,
Muhammad Haris, Naseem Shah, Omair bin Yusuf, Qasim Akram, Salman Ali Agha, Salman Khan, Usman Salahuddin and Zahid Mahmood

Chief selector Muhammad Wasim: “The objective and purpose of such tours is to reward, encourage, motivate and prepare high-performing cricketers for future challenges, while also developing and strengthening our bench-strength.

“The average age of this squad is under 22 and includes players who have either been part of the national squads or are knocking at the doors of international cricket. The Sri Lanka tour will help these talented cricketers to further hone and polish their skills so that they are ready to perform at the international level.”

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