Pakistan v Afghanistan T20 series- Surprising changes
After the exciting PSL season, it is time for some international cricket. Pakistan has witnessed a lot of new cricket stars in the recent Pakistan Super League, and they plan to test them out in their T20 series starting on 24 March 2023 against Afghanistan. But the thing is, there were a lot of Afghani players in the league as well. And Afghanistan Cricket Board will also be testing them out in this series. Both nations have a great chance to test out new players and groom them for future succession.
In this article, we will cover the perspective of the Pakistan cricket team, the squad, the coaching staff, and much more. So if you are interested in watching the series, then make sure to read this article.
Pakistan’s squad
First of all, let’s start with the squad. Pakistan cricket team has selected a pretty young team for the T20 series. The most surprising change was the inclusion of Shadab Khan as the captain of the squad. He has been the captain of his franchise in the super league. However, seeing how he does in the international scene will be interesting. Let’s have a look at the squad how.
| Player | Role |
| Abdullah Shafeeq | Batsman |
| Azam Khan | Wicketkeeper |
| Faheem Ashraf | All-rounder |
| Iftikhar Ahmad | Batsman |
| Ihsanullah | Fast bowler |
| Imad Wasim | All-rounder |
| Mohammad Haris | Batsman |
| Mohammad Nawaz | All-rounder |
| Mohammad Wasim | Fast bowler |
| Naseem Shah | Fast bowler |
| Saim Ayub | Batsman |
| Shaan Masood | Batsman |
| Tayyab Tahir | Batsman |
| Zaman Khan | Fast bowler |
| Reserves | |
| Abrar Ahmad | Off-spinner |
| Haseebullah | Batsman |
| Usama Mir | Legspinner |
So this is the squad for the Afghanistan series. For this series, PCB has decided to rest players like Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen, and Haris. These are the leading players. But it was essential to manage the workload as injuries are prevalent due to the emergence of franchise cricket.
Batting
Batting looks pretty promising. Pakistan is going with Azam Khan, who was electric in the later part of the tournament. He was pretty instrumental in Islamabad United’s success.
Next, Saim Ayub and Haris will be the powerhouses for the batting lineup. If they start to shift their gears, the Pakistani team can look forward to high scores on the scoreboard.
Abdullah Shafiq will provide stability in the batting lineup, while Iftikhar will try to catch the IftiMania again.
Shan Masood had an on-and-off relationship with good form. But he is an excellent option if you want high scores in the opening partnerships.
Bowlers
The bowling lineup looks pretty sharp as well. Pakistan is going to with Zaman Khan and Ihsanullah. Both bowlers have been instrumental in the success of their relevant franchises. Ihsanullah was also the man of the series.
Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jnr. are good options as they will provide the team with experience.
All-rounders
The all-rounders’ list is full of PSL stars. We all saw the exploits of Imad Wasim for Karachi Kings. Unfortunately, his team didn’t perform well, but he never sat back and let things slide away easily. Nawaz joins him with his tight left-arm spin power-hitting.
Faheem Ashraf is also a good all-rounder.
Overall, All-rounders are the strength of this team.
Coaching Staff
The following is the coaching staff for Pakistan versus Afghanistan T20 series.
| Head coach | Abdur Rehman |
| Bowling coach | Umar Gul |
| Batting coach | Mohammad Yousaf |
| Fielding coach | Abdul Majeed |
Regarding the bowling and batting coaches, I do not think they need any introduction. Who has forgotten those deadly yorkers from the Gul-doser? Or who among us doesn’t remember the classy batting of Mohammad Yousaf? Their mentorship will be critical to advancing the professional careers of these young cricketers.
But the head coach needs an introduction. Abdur Rehman coached the team “Peshawar Panthers” in the Faysal Bank T20 tournament. This is the same team that had players like Mohammad Rizwan in it. The panthers ended the domination of Shoaib Malik’s Sialkot Stallions in the tournament and won the title. Most players, including Rizwan, credited the head coach for gelling the team together for that win.
It will be exciting to see how the head coach manages to achieve in this series.
Schedule
All these matches are night matches that will start at 9:00 PM.
| Date | Match | Venue |
| Friday, March 24, 2023 | Pakistan v Afghanistan | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
| Sunday, March 26, 2023 | ||
| Monday, March 27, 2023 |
Venue
All the matches will be played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. If we talk about home advantage, I do not think Afghanistan will benefit much from it. Pakistan team used UAE as their home turf for a long time. This is like a second home to them now.
Pakistan National Team also has many good memories on this ground. Sharjah is famous for matches like Pakistan v India, where the legendary batsman Javed Miandad hit the last ball for six to win the game. Also, who has forgotten the game against South Africa or Sri-Lanka where the heroics of Abdul-Razzaq and Afridi won us the game, respectively?
Fans are hoping a lot from this venue this time as well.
Where to watch it live?
Fans in Pakistan can watch this match live on the Daraz app as well. Also, PTV sports are available to them for live streaming. They an watch the games on the PTV sports TV channel, A sports, and ten sports.
Conclusion
This is an exciting time for cricket between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Those days are gone when you could brush Afghanistan off as a weaker side. Now, they have world-class players like Rashid, who can turn the tide against their opposition anytime they want.
But the record suggests that Pakistan is going to win. Will the Afghanis change that now?
Well, anything can happen in T20 cricket.
