KARACHI: Pakistan, on Wednesday, recalled trouble-making opener Ahmed Shehzad and middle-order batsman Umar Akmal for the three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka starting this weekend.
It will be the first time the 27-year-old Shehzad will represent Pakistan since a four-month ban for a failed dope test last year.
The ban was further extended by six weeks after Shehzad violated rules by playing club matches despite the ban.
Shehzad played the last of his 57 Twenty20 internationals in Scotland in June last year.
Umar, 29, played the last of 82 Twenty20 internationals in 2016 against the West Indies.
That year, former head coach Waqar Younis labeled both Shehzad and Umar as “indisciplined” and called on selectors to let them play domestic cricket to earn their places in the national team.
The three Twenty20 internationals will all be played in Lahore on October 5, 7 and 9.
Chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq announced the changes to the squad as it prepared to meet Sri Lanka for the final one-day international of the tour on Wednesday in Karachi.
The first ODI was abandoned due to rain, while Pakistan won the second on Monday.
“From the ODI side against Sri Lanka, there are three changes. Shehzad, Umar, and Faheem Ashraf have replaced Abid Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq,” said Misbah.
Sarfaraz Ahmed will lead the Twenty20 squad.
Twenty20 squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz.
Pakistan recall Shehzad, Umar for Sri Lanka Twenty20s
Pakistan recall Shehzad, Umar for Sri Lanka Twenty20s
- 27-year-old Shehzad will represent Pakistan for the first time since a four-month ban on him
- Lahore will host three Twenty20 international matches
Nine Afghan citizens killed, 10 injured in accident in southwestern Pakistan— police
- Pickup truck carrying Afghan nationals collided with oil tanker in Nokundi town, says police official
- Says Afghan nationals were attempting to enter Europe illegally via Iran as per preliminary probe
QUETTA: At least nine Afghan nationals were killed and 10 others injured in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday when the pickup truck they were traveling in collided with an oil tanker, a police official said.
The collision occurred in Nokundi, a town located on Pakistan’s border with Iran in the southwestern Balochistan province. District Police Officer Muhammad Shareef Kalhoro told Arab News that the Zamyad vehicle (a pickup truck made by Iranian automobile manufacturer Zamyad Co.) was transporting Afghan nationals illegally when the accident took place.
“Twenty-one illegal Afghan migrants were onboard the Zamyad vehicle when it was hit by an oil tanker in the kacha [remote] area of Nokundi,” Kalhoro said.
“Nine Afghans were killed on the spot and 10 were injured in the serious accident,” he added.
The police official said the bodies and injured persons were sent back to Afghanistan through cross-border coordination and in accordance with legal protocol.
Kalhoro said preliminary investigations indicate the Afghan nationals were attempting to enter Europe illegally from Afghanistan via Iran, facilitated by an organized human smuggling network.
“All legal proceedings have been initiated, and the human smuggling network is being traced for further action,” he said.
Pakistan launched a nationwide crackdown against people living in the country illegally in 2023, with Afghan refugees bearing the brunt of the deportation drive. Pakistan says it has deported over 1.5 million Afghans since then. The crackdown was launched after a spate of suicide attacks in the country that Islamabad blamed on Afghan nationals without providing proof.
Thousands of migrants travel illegally through the desolate areas of Chaghi district in Balochistan every year in an attempt to reach Europe via Iran.
Balochistan, home to the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, is considered by experts to be Pakistan’s most underdeveloped province across almost all social and economic indicators.
The province is also home to multi-billion-dollar mineral projects such as Saindak and Reko Diq. However, most districts in Balochistan have dilapidated roads, which often lead to fatal accidents.
