Pakistan drop Hafeez, Shah from Asia Cup squad

Lahore : Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors on Tuesday dropped seasoned campaigners Mohammed Hafeez and Yasir Shah from the Sarfraz Ahmed-led 16 member squad for the Asia Cup, to be played in the United Arab Emirates from September 15.

The selection committee headed by the new PCB chairman Ehsan Mani has however added a couple of rookies in 18-year-old pacer Shaheen Afridi and opener Shan Masood for the six-nation tournament.

The rest of the squad remains unchanged from Pakistan's last five-match One-day International (ODI) series against Zimbabwe.

Pakistan begin their Asia Cup campaign with a league game against the winner of the ongoing Asia Cup Qualifier on September 16 before facing arch-rivals India on September 19.

Pakistan squad for Asia Cup: 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.