Uncapped Afridi and Masood included in Pakistan's Asia Cup squad

18-year-old fast bowler Shaheen Afridi and opening batsman Shan Masood earned their maiden ODI call-ups as Pakistan announced a 16-member squad for the Asia Cup, slated to begin in UAE September 15.

18-year-old fast bowler Shaheen Afridi and opening batsman Shan Masood earned their maiden ODI call-ups as Pakistan announced a 16-member squad for the Asia Cup, slated to begin in UAE September 15.

There was no place for veteran all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez and leg-spinner Yasir Shah. The rest of the squad remains unchanged from Pakistan’s last ODI series against Zimbabwe.

Left-arm fast bowler, Afridi, who has represented Pakistan in 3 T20Is, is pitted as one for the future by many Pakistani greats. The 18-year-old was a huge success in the Pakistan Super League, forcing the selectors to take a note of him with his raw pace and bounce.

The Balochistan star has played only 2 first-class matches, picking up 11 wickets.

Shan Masood, on the other hand, brushed aside his Test specialist tag to burst onto the ODI side on the back of staggering performances in the recently concluded Pakistan ODI cup and Regional one-day cup. The 28-year-old scored 760 runs in his last 10 matches including three centuries. 

Pakistan begin their Asia Cup campaign with a league game against the winner of the ongoing Asia Cup Qualifier on 16 September. However, their big test will be against arch-rivals India on September 19.

Full squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (Captain), Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Imam ul Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Shinwari, Shaheen Afridi