Babar Azam: “We had Iftikhar, Abdullah Shafique and Dahani in our bench strength”
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Pakistan captain Babar Azam said top order batsman Abdullah Shafique, power-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed and pace bowler Shahnawaz Dahani add strength to the team’s bench in limited overs cricket.
Shafique opens the batting for Pakistan in Test cricket, but has only featured in three T20 Internationals. He has yet to make his ODI debut.
Iftikhar is a useful middle order batsman with plenty of firepower and is a handy bowler as well.
As for Dahani, he is one of Pakistan’s most exciting prospects and has been earmarked as a future superstar.
“We had Iftikhar, Abdullah Shafique and Dahani in our bench strength,” Azam said in a video released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as quoted by Cricwick.
Pakistan are now playing a three-match ODI series against the Netherlands in Rotterdam and lead 1-0 after winning the first match by 16 runs.
After that, they will be involved in the Asia Cup, which will be played in the UAE from August 27 to September 11.
Pakistan squad for Netherlands ODIs:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mehmood
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir