Pakistan’s 15-man squad did not contain any major surprises. Regular top order batter Fakhar Zaman was only included in the reserves after picking up a knee injury to leave Shan Masood competing with Haider Ali for a spot in the Pakistan XI.

Masood has never played T20I cricket, while 21-year-old batter Haider has represented Pakistan in 21 T20Is in a variety of positions. Talismanic opening bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been included in the squad after injury ruled him out of the recently concluded Asia Cup. Shoaib Malik, who enjoyed a decent 2021 T20 World Cup in the middle order, was dropped by Pakistan ahead of the Asia Cup and was a possible beneficiary from Fakhar’s injury – but was once more overlooked by selectors.

Despite the squad’s similarity to the one that was chosen for the Asia Cup, Amir seemed to criticise the selection by tweeting the below.

Amir, 30, last played for Pakistan in 2020 and is currently retired from international cricket.