Pak U-19 side to tour Bangladesh, players to be vaccinated on April 8
Mar 27, 2021
Lahore [Pakistan], March 27 : Pakistan U-19 cricket team will tour Bangladesh next month to play a four-day and five 50-over matches against the side that won the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa last year.
As per the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 age criteria, players born on or after September 1, 2002 have been selected. The tour has been arranged to provide further exposure to Pakistan cricket's future stars following an extensive camp at the start of the year at the National High Performance Centre in Lahore. The tour will also help prepare the players for next year's ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
Prior to the April 12 departure, the team will play two 50-over practice matches besides a three-day match during a 10-day long camp that will run in Lahore from April 2-11.
Pakistan U19 head coach Ijaz Ahmed said: "The tour provides a wonderful grooming opportunity for the players against one of the most formidable U19 sides at present which won the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup last year. We have a talented bunch of players and a number of them have proven their worth already at the domestic circuit in the recently concluded season."
Six players who were part of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020 in South Africa have been retained in the squad. They are: Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Fahad Munir, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Irfan Niazi, Mohammad Shehzad and Tahir Hussain.
The players and management will be tested for Covid-19 before entering the camp, and those returning negative tests will move into a bio-secure for the team that will be set-up in Lahore. The players and team management will be vaccinated for Covid-19 on April 8.
The 20-member squad has been chosen by the national juniors' selection committee in consultation with the Pakistan U19 head coach.
Pakistan U19 squad for Bangladesh tour: Batsmen - Abbas Ali, Abdul Faseeh, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Fahad Munir, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Irfan Niazi, Mohammad Shehzad, Qasim Akram and Rizwan Mehmood
Wicketkeepers - Haseebullah and Raza-ul-Mustafa
Spinners - Aaliyan Mehmood, Ali Asfand, Arham Nawab and Faisal Akram
Fast bowlers - Ahmed Khan, Asim Ali, Muneeb Wasif, Tahir Hussain and Zeeshan Zameer.