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Cricket

'Ye Asia cup me 17 log allowed hote hai kya' - Fans react as Pakistan announces 17-memeber squad for Asia Cup 2023

Days after the appointment of a new chief selector, Pakistan announced their 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023

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Pakistan Cricket Team

Pakistan Cricket Team (Source: Twitter)

Days after the appointment of a new chief selector, Pakistan announced their 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. The team also announced the squad for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which includes 18 members. Notably, Pakistan is set to host the Asia Cup on August 31 in a hybrid model.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan will face Afghanistan on August 22 in Sri Lanka. In a press conference, Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq announced the squad. He revealed that star batter Babar Azam will lead the team while Mohammed Rizwan will be the designated wicketkeeper-batsman. The side features Abdullah Shaqfique, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam-ul-Haq as the openers.

Mohammad Haris has been named the reserve wicketkeeper-batsman for Rizwan. In the spin-bowling department, Shadab Khan will spearhead the attack alongside Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir. Faheem Ashraf, the pace-bowling all-rounder, makes his return to the ODI squad after a two-year hiatus. His last ODI appearance for Pakistan was in July 2021.

T20 star Tayyab Tahir earns another ODI call

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The 18-member squad for the Afghanistan ODIs also includes Tayyab Tahir and Saud Shakeel. However, Shakeel will not participate in the Asia Cup. The Asia Cup squad, consisting of 17 members, will proceed without Shakeel. He has played five ODIs, with his last appearance in March 2022, when Pakistan successfully chased down 348 against Australia with six wickets in hand in Lahore.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that this is Tahir's second ODI call, as he got his maiden call earlier this year. He was named in the squad for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand but has yet to make his debut. Notably, in the recently concluded Emerging Asia Cup, he scored a magnificent century against India in the finals to win the game for his team.

The squad sees the notable exclusions of Shan Masood and Ihsanullah, both of whom featured in the team against New Zealand in April and May. The PCB media release attributed a series of low scores as the reason behind Shan's omission.

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Here is Pakistan's squad for the Asia Cup and Afghanistan series:

Babar Azam (c), Fakhar, M Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam Ul Haq, M Haris, M Wasim Jr, Saud Shakeel (Only for AFG ODIS), Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, Shaheen Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir

Here is how fans react to Pakistan's squad:

Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 Babar Azam