Farhan Yousaf to Lead Pakistan U19 on England Tour
News Desk
Lahore: Pakistan’s Under-19 side will head to England next week for a five-match tour, with Farhan Yousaf returning as captain as the young squad prepares for its first major overseas assignment of the season.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named the 15-member squad on Thursday for the tour, which will run from September 2 to 16 and feature one Youth Test and four Youth One-Day Internationals.
Farhan, a right-handed middle-order batter, has already led Pakistan to success at the junior level, captaining the side to the ACC U19 Asia Cup title in December last year.
The tour will begin with a four-day Youth Test against England at Arundel Castle Cricket Ground from September 2 to 5, followed by four Youth ODIs.
The first ODI will also be played at Arundel on September 9, before the teams move to Guildford for the second match on September 12. The final two games will be held at Wormsley on September 14 and 16.
Pakistan have assembled a balanced bowling attack for the tour, with four pacers — Mohammad Sayyam, Abdul Subhan, Rizwanullah and Umar Zaib — complemented by left-arm wrist-spinner Mohammad Huzaifa and left-arm spinner Niqab Shafiq.
Aliyan Salman, Ahmad Hussain, Jahangir Bilal and Hayam Khan will add all-round options, while Hamza Zahoor and Abdul Qadir have been selected as wicketkeepers.
Farhan, Usman Khan and Hasnain Abbas Dar are the designated batters in the squad.
Nine players have previous Pakistan U19 experience, including Farhan, Subhan, Ahmad, Hamza, Sayyam, Huzaifa, Niqab, Umar and Usman. The remaining six players could make their international junior debuts during the tour.
The squad completed its preparations at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, finishing a pre-tour camp with a two-day red-ball intra-squad match on Tuesday.
The Pakistan contingent is scheduled to depart Lahore on Sunday, August 30.
Shahid Anwar will coach the side, assisted by Rao Iftikhar Anjum as fast bowling coach, Zohaib Khan as spin bowling coach and Humayun Farhat as fielding coach. Ubaid Ullah, Ibrar Ahmed and Ali Hamza will serve as physiotherapist, trainer and performance analyst respectively.
Pakistan U19 squad: Farhan Yousaf (captain), Abdul Qadir, Abdul Subhan, Ahmad Hussain, Aliyan Salman, Hamza Zahoor, Hasnain Abbas Dar, Hayam Khan, Jahangir Bilal, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Huzaifa, Niqab Shafiq, Rizwanullah, Umar Zaib and Usman Khan.
Non-travelling reserves: Abbas Afridi, Ali Hasnain Badshah, Farhanullah, Hassan Khan and Ibtisam Azhar.
Tour schedule:
Youth Test: September 2-5 — Arundel
1st Youth ODI: September 9 — Arundel
2nd Youth ODI: September 12 — Guildford
3rd Youth ODI: September 14 — Wormsley
4th Youth ODI: September 16 — Wormsley
