Saud Shakeel-led Pakistan A arrives in Sri Lanka

Pakistan A Head Coach Ejaz Ahmed 

By Shamzeer Jaleel reporting from Kandy

The Saud Shakeel-led Pakistan A outfit arrived in Sri Lanka last evening (21 Oct.) at the Bandaranaike International Airport for two four-day matches and three one-day matches to be played in Kandy and Dambulla (to be confirmed) respectively. 

Upon arrival, the team was transferred to Kandy late night yesterday. The squad will resume their training after the hotel quarantine period of three days.

Many of the future Pakistan cricketers who are knocking at the door will tour in with this squad, which is an ideal opportunity for the young side, of which the average age is 22 years.

Skipper Shakeel has played in several one-day international matches for the Pakistan outfit while the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors have also named a few youngsters from the Under-19 squad who will feature in the Cricket World Cup in February 2022, which will take place in West Indies. With New Zealand and England cancelling their tour to Pakistan, this is a good opportunity for these youngsters to get among the runs and wickets in order for selection for their future tours.

The ‘Pakistan Shaheens’ attended a four-day training camp from 17 to 20 October at the Hanif Mohamed High Performance Centre – Karachi under the watchful eyes of Head Coach Ejaz Ahmed. Ejaz handled the Pakistan Under-19 outfit in his last contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

 Touring Squad to Sri Lanka: Saud Shakeel (Captain), Kamran Ghulam (Vice Captain), Mohammad Thalha, Abdullah Shafiq, Omair Bin Yousuf, Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Usman Salaudin, Salman Khan, Muhammad Haris, Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Zahid Mahmood, Abrar Ahmad, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Irfan Ullah Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Arshard Iqbal