KARACHI: Opener Sahibzada Farhan will lead Pakistan Shaheens in their upcoming two four-day matches against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Darwin, Australia, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday.

The red-ball matches are part of the Shaheens’ Darwin tour — which will also include the side’s two 50-over matches and a nine-team T20 tournament — both against local sides.

Lead by Farhan, who has been putting in worthwhile performances consistently over the years in the Pakistan domestic circuit across all three formats, the Shaheens red-ball squad is majorly made up of other such players.

It includes the likes of Pakistan internationals Khurram Shehzad, Shahnawaz Dahani and Umar Amin along with high-performing domestic cricketers in Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Ali, Mubasir Khan and Mehran Mumtaz.

Farhan himself has played five Twenty20 Internationals for Pakistan and boasts an impressive record of 4,401 runs in his 58 first-class matches.

Pakistan Test coach Jason Gillespie will accompany the Shaheens for the red-ball leg of the tour to observe the potential of country’s best domestic products as the Australian pacer looks forward to upcoming series against Bangladesh and England — both at home.

He will return to Pakistan in the first week of August after the second four-day match against Bangladesh ‘A’, which concludes on July 29.

Squad: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Faisal Akram, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Kashif Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mubasir Khan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir, Umar Amin.

Player support personnel: Jason Gillespie (head coach for red-ball matches), Abdul Rehman (head coach for white-ball matches), Mohammad Masroor (assistant coach-cum-manager), Mohammad Asad (physiotherapist), Imranullah (trainer) and Usman Hashmi (analyst).

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2024