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NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s T20 skipper Salman Ali Agha has ruled out any major changes to his squad ahead of next year’s Men’s T20 World Cup, emphasising that the team has shown significant improvement after players were assigned specific roles in recent months.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Following their Asia Cup final defeat to India earlier this year, Pakistan had made big changes to the side, bringing in Abdul Samad, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, and Naseem Shah. The revamped team then defeated South Africa in a three-match T20I series at home and went on to win a Tri-series last month involving Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
“In my personal opinion, I don’t see any major changes in the national T20 squad before the World Cup,” Salman said on a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast.“I think the current combination we have will be the one we will have in the World Cup. Every player had been given a specific role in recent months and with that the team had moved forward,” he added.Pakistan are scheduled to play six T20 matches ahead of the World Cup, which is co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8 next year. Salman noted that the limited number of games makes it difficult to make significant alterations.“We have six T20 matches to play before the World Cup and I don’t think we can make any big changes now in these remaining matches. We have to show consistency and move forward with the current combination,” he said.Experienced all-rounder Shadab Khan, who was vice-captain before suffering a shoulder injury in May and undergoing surgery in London, has now completed his rehabilitation and is set to make a comeback in the Big Bash League in Australia.Salman added that the “doors were not closed” for Shadab’s return to the squad, highlighting his experience as a key asset.Looking further ahead, Salman revealed his bigger ambitions: not just winning the T20 World Cup, but also the 50-over World Cup in 2027.He also emphasized the value of Pakistan’s short series in Sri Lanka next month, saying it would be extremely beneficial since all their T20 World Cup games will be played in the island nation.
