Pakistan Team News
With a 3-0 series lead and being 2-0 up in the current match, Pakistan has rested some of their key players. Ahmed Shehzad is back from his one-game suspension and has been slotted into the opening slot with Imam Ul Haq opening for the first time in this series. Mohammad Hafeez will continue to open alongside him. Haris Sohail is expected to come in at number three with Babar Azam moving up to number four, while Fakhar Zaman will bat at number five. Shadab Khan replaces Imad Wasim as the third spinner while Asif Ali returns as an opener instead of Sarfaraz Ahmed as Rahat looks to give them more batting practice before they fly off for their tour of Australia. Mohammed Amir replaces Hasan Ali in the team and Yasir Shah comes back in place of Shadab Khan, who misses out on a spot due to injury.
Faheem Ashraf
Pakistan is likely to go in with a similar team as they did in the first game. Mohammad Hafeez is likely to open the batting, followed by Fakhar Zaman. Asad Shafiq will come in at three and Babar Azam at four. Shoaib Malik will bat at five, followed by Sarfraz Ahmed (captain) and Imad Wasim. Shadab Khan will be their second spinner alongside Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi – who has been given his first international call-up for this game – could be used as an attacking option for the last few overs if needed.
Shaheen Afridi
Pakistan has a lot of questions to answer in this match. The bowling and batting unit will be different for sure because it is not about winning but about getting the best out of each player. Shaheen Afridi is likely to lead the way. He has been excellent in his comeback, he was bang on target against Sri Lanka too. His experience with the ball makes him an automatic choice. Shadab Khan may also come back into contention as an all-rounder after a decent outing with both bat and ball against Afghanistan earlier in the year. Junaid Khan might get another chance too after impressing with bat and ball at Bristol earlier in September.
Shoaib Malik may finally get his chance to shine as well after some good innings for Islamabad United where he hit two centuries in recent weeks.
Shadab Khan
The left-arm orthodox spinner Shadab Khan is set to make his return for the national team in the second match of the T20I series against England. He played a vital role with both bat and ball in the first match, picking up three wickets and scoring an unbeaten 27 off just 13 balls as he played a captain’s knock to guide his side to victory. Shadab, who earned his maiden international call-up last year from Mickey Arthur, has been handed an extended run in the side following injuries to other spinners Yasir Shah and Imad Wasim and had done well on debut by claiming 3 wickets and holding a catch at slip.
Fakhar Zaman
Pakistan in all likelihood will take on England in the second Twenty20 international and cricket predictions in 2023 suggest that Fakhar Zaman will be included as a specialist batsman for his team. He has had a brilliant start to his career and he would not want it to end. Besides, he is likely to get the nod because of a lack of confidence among other players due to recent events.
England is bound to have started feeling very confident about winning the series, since they have enjoyed terrific starts, and made sure the margin was out of reach by restricting them to 114 runs in four overs at an astonishingly low run rate. This has put pressure on Mohammad Amir who is also likely to be considered for this game.
Babar Azam
Pakistan’s bowling attack has been led by Hasan Ali and Mohammad Amir, but Shadab Khan also deserves mention as one of their key players. Shadab had a disappointing outing in the first match but will be looking to bounce back with a strong performance against England in this next game. Asad Shafiq, who usually bats in the middle order for Pakistan, is likely to come into this team as an opener, replacing Fakhar Zaman. He is currently the leading run-scorer for Pakistan in ODI cricket and is among the top five run scorers in world cricket currently. Fawad Alam will slot into the No 3 position instead of Haris Sohail or Shoaib Malik at four due to his experience at the international level and consistency during domestic matches for Karachi Kings. Babar Azam too is expected to bat at number three after Ahmed Shehzad was dropped from the squad ahead of the second T20I against England.
Sarfraz Ahmed (C) (WK) Section 8) Hasan Ali
Sarfraz Ahmed (C) (WK) Hasan Ali (seven sentences)
Sarfraz Ahmed will captain the side with a bowling attack consisting of Mohammad Amir, Usman Shinwari, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Nawaz and Hasan Ali.
Mohammad Amir is likely to open the innings alongside Fakhar Zaman; Usman Shinwari will provide backup on either end.
Mohammad Nawaz’s inclusion will depend on whether or not he recovers from an ankle injury.
Haris Sohail
Pakistan is back in action with the second T20I against England, and the team has made a few changes to the playing XI that took on India. Here is how they may line up for this game.
1) Imam-ul-Haq replaces Fakhar Zaman, who was ruled out due to injury.
2) Mohammad Hafeez comes in for Shoaib Malik as a specialist opener.
3) Babar Azam will open with Mohammad Hafeez and bats at No 3.
4) Faheem Ashraf will replace Shadab Khan as an allrounder, coming in at No 4 while Shadab bats at No 7.
