PCB likely to rest senior players for Pak-Afghan ODI series

Afghanistan will host the series against Pakistan in the first week of September in Hambantota, Sri Lanka

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PCB likely to rest senior players for Pak-Afghan ODI series

  • PCB may rest senior players who requested the management for it during Pak-Afghan ODI series. 
  • PCB may announce the squad in two to three days. 
  • The training camp for the ODI series will start on August 21. 


LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to announce the national squad for a three-match ODI series between Pakistan and Afghanistan in a couple of days, Geo News reported after the cricket board of the neighbouring country gave a green signal for the series.

Afghanistan will host the series in the first week of September in Hambantota, Sri Lanka.

The new national squad for Pakistan may not include some senior players as they have talked to the team management, seeking rest time before the next season, according to sources. The cricket board may be resting them for the ODI series against Afghanistan.

The players told the management that they had been constantly living in the bio-secure bubble owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and hence, wanted rest to spend some time with their families.

Captain Babar Azam, Hassan Ali, Fahim Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan are likely to get a go-ahead for rest.

Under the new circumstances, ODI captain Shadab Khan may lead the team, sources said. The PCB may announce the national squad in two or three days.

The training camp for the ODI squad players will start on August 21 in Lahore.

Taliban love cricket: Afghan cricket board

Responding to the PCB query regarding the fate of the bilateral series earlier this week, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said a change of government in the country will not affect the series and it will be played as per schedule.

“The Taliban love cricket and they are supporting their team. Our ODI series against Pakistan will go as per schedule in Sri Lanka. After two days’ gap due to the current situation in the country, the training camp of the national team will resume tomorrow,” ACB CEO Hamid Shinwari said.

Earlier, officials of the Sri Lankan cricket board were unable to guarantee whether the T20 match series between Afghanistan and Pakistan will start on September 1 after the Taliban came into power.

Sri Lanka's cricket board had announced on Monday that it will go ahead with arrangements to host a T20 series between Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to AFP.

Afghanistan's cricket team was also scheduled to play in the T20 World Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates in October which is also in doubt.

Most national players are in Afghanistan

"Efforts are being made to check their [Afghan cricket players] whereabouts," said an international cricket official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Sri Lanka's cricket board said it was still hoping to host Afghanistan and Pakistan for the three matches in an empty stadium at Hambantota.

The series was originally set to take place in Dubai but was shifted to Sri Lanka because it clashed with the Indian Premier League which also starts in September in the UAE.