Pakistan left out Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I squad named on Sunday for the Asia Cup and a warm-up tri-series beginning this month against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Azam and Rizwan have been star performers in the shortest format in the past, but have not played since December, which head coach Mike Hesson put down to other players performing well.
“We know what a fine player Babar (Azam) is,” said Hesson.
“Babar has been asked to improve in certain areas, like taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate and he is working hard on these things. The players we have are performing well and having a positive impact,” said Hesson.
Since Hesson took over as head coach in May, Pakistan has played three T20 series—winning 3-0 at home but losing 2-1 away to Bangladesh. It then beat West Indies 2-1 in the United States.
“Our focus is to win the tri-series and the Asia Cup and the aim is to peak from these pinnacle events,” said Hesson.
All-rounder Salman Agha will lead the side, which also sees the return of fast bowlers Mohammad Wasim and Salman Mirza, who took seven wickets in Bangladesh but was left out of the squad against West Indies.
Opener Fakhar Zaman also returns after being injured for a One-Day International series in West Indies last week, which Pakistan lost 1-2.
The tri-series, which starts on August 29, and the Asia Cup from September 9 will both take place in the UAE.
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Salman Ali (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.
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