Hits and misses: Which of Pakistan’s new players popped and which flopped against Afghanistan?
Pakistan blooded several international cricket newbies in their T20I series against Afghanistan and ended up losing the series 2-1.
Following the conclusion of the 2023 PSL, the selection committee decided to leave some of the regulars in Pakistan’s T20I squad out of the series in the UAE to allow them time to recover after the tournament, which got over less than a week before the Afghanistan series. This meant that Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Haris Rauf were not selected for the three-match tour.
In their place, some of the outstanding performers from the PSL were called up to the national side. These included Saim Ayub, who hit five half-centuries in the tournament, and fast-bowling revelation Ihsanullah. Azam Khan also returned to international cricket for the first time in two years, having only played two T20Is previously. In all, four players made their T20I debuts in the series with differing levels of success.
