Unheralded Maqsood picked in Pak squad for T20 series against Australia

Pakistan's cricket selectors Thursday named uncapped left-arm pacer Waqas Maqsood in the Twenty20 International squad for the series against Australia.

Maqsood was picked after a string of impressive performances in domestic cricket. At 30, he is a late bloomer and has appeared in 19 T20 matches in his career, taking 20 wickets.

"Waqas Maqsood has been drafted in the T20 squad after his recent performances in the domestic cricket and Pakistan 'A' team in the recent series. Similarly, Imad Wasim makes a comeback in the team after his form and fitness was monitored by the selection committee during the current domestic matches," Chief Selector Inzamam ul Haq said.

The selectors have also recalled all-rounder Imad Waseem for the three-match series in the UAE.

Imad has been out of the Pakistan limited-overs squad since last year due to a knee problem and was also overlooked for the Asia Cup last month after failing a fitness test.

The selectors have called back experienced batsman Muhammad Hafeez for the T20 series.

Hafeez was included in the Test squad for the ongoing series with Australia as the 18th player and ended up scoring a hundred in the first Test.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said the T20 squad was finalised after consultation with captain Sarfraz Ahmed and coach Mickey Arthur.

The three-match series against Australia will be played on October 24, 26 and 28, 2018 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively.

Pakistan Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Tallat, Shadab khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Waseem Waqas Maqsood Faheem Ashraf.