The junior selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has invited 21 high-performing cricketers born on or after 1 September 2002 for a training camp that will be held in Lahore to prepare the side for the upcoming U19 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates and the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

The camp will be staged from 26 November to 16 December before the 17-player squad departs for the UAE on 19 December for the Asia Cup to be played from 20 December to 2 January. Following the UAE event, the side will proceed to the West Indies on 3 January where the World Cup will be played from 14 January to 5 February.

For the World Cup, Pakistan will be based in Trinidad and Tobago where they will play their Group C matches against PNG (15 Jan), Afghanistan (20 Jan) and Zimbabwe (22 Jan).

If Pakistan finishes in the top-two of Group C, they will feature in the Super League, matches of which will be played in Antigua and Barbuda. In the scenario of Pakistan finishing third or fourth in Group C, their Plate Championship matches will be in Trinidad.

The 21 players have been selected based on their performances in the recently-concluded U19 tournaments, which were organised by the PCB. A few prominent top performers, such as Abdul Faseeh, Irfan Khan Niazi, Mehran Mumtaz, Haseebullah and Abdul Wahid Bangalzai graduated from the pathway events to feature in the seniors competitions, including the four-day Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, three-day Cricket Associations Championship and Cricket Associations Challenge.

Qasim Akram represented Pakistan Shaheens on their tour of Sri Lanka which concluded earlier this month.  

During the training camp, the 21 players will have an opportunity to showcase their talent and potential when they will participate in a series of preparatory activities, including intra-squad matches at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Pakistan have featured in all 13 World Cups since its inception in 1988. Their best results were in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2004 and 2006, respectively when they lifted the silverware. Pakistan finished runners-up in 1988 and 2010, while they achieved third-place in 2000, 2008, 2018 and 2020.

From the current Pakistan Test squad, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi have made a name at the global stage after featuring in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.

Probables: Abbas Ali (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdul Faseeh (Northern), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Balochistan), Ahmed Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Ali Asfand (Central Punjab), Arham Nawab (Central Punjab), Asif Ali (Sindh), Awais Ali (Central Punjab), Azan Awais (Central Punjab), Faisal Akram (Southern Punjab), Ghazi Ghori (Sindh), Haseebullah (Balochistan), Irfan Khan Niazi (Central Punjab), Maaz Sadaqat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mehran Mumtaz (Northern), Mohammad Umer (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa),Mohammad Shehzad (Southern Punjab), Qasim Akram (Central Punjab), Rizwan Mehmood (Sindh), Zeeshan Ahmed (Central Punjab) and Zeeshan Zameer (Sindh)