Karachi, 20 October 2021: Left-arm fast bowler Akif Javed has tested positive in pre-departure testing and, as such, he will miss Pakistan Shaheens’ tour of Sri Lanka. The 18-player squad will depart for Colombo on Thursday, 21 October.
Akif was selected for the three 50-over matches in Colombo, which will be played at the back of two four-day matches scheduled to begin in Kandy from 28 October. Due to paucity of time, no replacement has been named and the team management will have the option of selecting Akif’s replacement from the available bowlers.
Pakistan Shaheens attended a four-day training camp from 17-20 October in Karachi at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi under the supervision of head coach Ijaz Ahmed.
The squad will be led by Saud Shakeel, while Kamran Ghulam is the vice-captain.
Pakistan Shaheens squad (in alphabetical order):
Saud Shakeel (captain) (Sindh) (both formats)
Kamran Ghulam (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Abbas Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (50-over)
Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab) (both formats)
Abrar Ahmed (Sindh) (both formats)
Ahmed Safi Abdullah (Central Punjab) (four-day)
Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Irfanullah Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Khurram Shahzad (Balochistan) (both formats)
Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Mohammad Taha (Sindh) (both formats)
Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab) (both formats)
Omair Bin Yousuf (Sindh) (four-day)
Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) (both formats)
Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab) (both formats)
Salman Khan (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Usman Salahuddin (Southern Punjab) (four-day)
Zahid Mahmood (Sindh) (both formats)
Player Support Personnel: Ijaz Ahmed (head coach and team manager), Rao Iftikhar (assistant coach), Mohtashim Rashid (fielding coach), Mohammad Javed (trainer), Faisal Rai (analyst) Col. Usman (team security manager) and Hafiz Naeem (physiotherapist).
Tour schedule:
28-31 Oct – 1st four-day match, Kandy
4-7 Nov – 2nd four-day match, Kandy
10 Nov – 1st 50-over match, Colombo
12 Nov – 2nd 50-over match, Colombo
14 Nov – 3rd 50-over match, Colombo
