In pleasant, breezy conditions at the National Stadium in Karachi, Jason Mohammed, the West Indies captain on this tour, put Pakistan in to bat in the first of three T20Is. Of the 13-man squad named by the West Indies, the two who sit out the game are the uncapped Odean Smith and Andre McCarthy.
West Indies’ XI contains two debutants – the fast bowler Keemo Paul and the left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul.
Pakistan have handed debuts to two players too – Asif Ali and Hussain Talat – both from the Islamabad United team that recently won its second PSL title. Babar Azam is expected to open alongside Fakhar Zaman, with Ahmed Shehzad sitting out. Shaheen Shah Afridi will have to wait for his first game, with Pakistan opting for only two specialist fast bowlers in Hasan Ali and Mohammad Amir.
Pakistan: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Shoaib Malik, 4 Asif Ali, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Hussain Talat, 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Hasan Ali
West Indies: 1 Andre Fletcher, 2 Chadwick Walton, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Jason Mohammed (capt), 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Rayad Emrit, 9 Veerasammy Permaul, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Kesrick Williams
Source: ESPN Crickinfo