Afridi, Babar named in Pakistan T20I squad for Australia series

Shaheen Shah Afridi has returned to the Pakistan squad for the first time since being sidelined from the BBL last month with a knee ligament injury, to face Australia in a three-match T20I series starting next week. Babar Azam also keeps his place despite a torrid BBL season, while Haris Rauf's stellar season in Australia has not proved enough to earn back a spot in the side.

Pakistan's 16-member squad will play the T20I series against Australia in Lahore before both sides depart for the T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka.

Khawaja Nafay, who impressed on debut in Sri Lanka earlier this month, keeps his place as the designated wicketkeeper, while Usman Khan is also in the squad. Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz make up the spin-bowling contingent, while Afridi is partnered with Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Faheem Ashraf for the pace options.

There was widespread speculation about Babar's status in the side after a BBL where he struggled to make an impact. He scored 202 runs across 11 innings at a strike rate of 103.06 - the lowest for any player who has ever scored over 200 runs in a BBL season. In a crucial group stage game, he took offence when his Sydney Sixers team-mate Steven Smith turned down a single off the last ball of an over to keep Babar off strike, and though they eventually reconciled, Babar scored one run in the two innings that followed. He returned home with Sixers still in the competition, and though the official line was he had been called back for national duty, there were calls - including from Mark Waugh - to drop him from Sixers' starting XI.

Rauf, meanwhile, was the highest wicket-taker at the BBL until Friday with 20 scalps. He last played a T20I at the Asia Cup final against India in Dubai, where his expensive spell in the dying stages of a thriller ended up costing Pakistan the game. Rauf leaked 18 runs in the 18th over when India needed 30 from 18 and another 13 from four balls when India needed 10 from the last over. He is understood to have fallen well down the pecking order for Pakistan since.

This is Pakistan's final squad ahead of the T20 World Cup, and likely to be the final audition for players vying to force their way into the side for the global tournament. Pakistan are among the few sides to have held off naming their squad for the tournament, where they play the opening game: against Netherlands on 7 February in Colombo.

Salman Ali Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) Usman Tariq