Pakistan are all set to take on the West Indies in the three-match T20I series that is scheduled to take place from December 13 to 16 at the National Stadium in Karachi.

A few of Pakistan players started their quarantine from Tuesday, whereas the members of the Test squad along with the West Indies contingent reached Karachi on Thursday from the Caribbean and Bangladesh, respectively. The players and coaching staff had a PCR test for Covid-19, which came out negative on Friday.

A comparatively understrength team of the Caribbean giants have travelled to Pakistan with several of their key performers unavailable due to different reasons.

Captain Kieron Pollard pulled out of the tour last minute due to a hamstring injury, therefore the vice-captain Nicholas Pooran will lead the side.

Moreover, their left-arm pacer Obed McCoy and bowling allrounder Fabian Allen were also unavailable for the selection due to injuries.

Meanwhile, key performers like Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons opted out due to personal reasons.

The T20I squad of the two-time champions feature a number of inexperienced players including left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, fast bowling all-rounder Odean Smith and Dominic Drakes.

Motie was a part of Windies’ T20 World Cup squad as a reserve, while Drakes and Smith were net bowlers before the start of the tournament.

On the other hand, the Green Shirts have picked a very similar squad to what they had picked for their successful T20 World campaign.

The selectors decided to leave out left-arm spin allrounder Imad Wasim, senior pro Shoaib Malik and the former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad.

Moreover, fast-bowler Hasan Ali, who had a brilliant comeback on the Bangladesh tour after having a disappointing outing in the T20 World Cup, has been rested as he was playing cricket continuously since his return after the back injury.

Meanwhile, young talented batter Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Hasnain have been named for the home series.

Head-to-head:

The 2009 World T20 Champions have dominated the Caribbean giants in the shortest format of the game.

The two teams have come face to face on 18 occasions in the 20-over format, of which Pakistan have stood victorious 12 time and lost three contests only, while three matches have ended in no result. West Indies last defeated Pakistan in a T20I in 2017.

Home team’s skipper Babar Azam has been the best batsman when the two teams have locked horns, scoring 454 runs in 11 innings at an average of 56.75. Meanwhile, leg spinner Shadab Khan is the most successful bowler with 15 wickets in nine innings.

Out of the current West Indies squad that is touring Pakistan, only Pooran has been a prominent performer, having 100 runs under his belt in five innings. Whereas, none of the touring Windies bowlers have put up any significant performance against the Green Caps in this format of the game.

Undefeated streak

The Men-in-Green are yet to face a defeat in the 20-over format at the National Stadium Karachi. Pakistan have played four T20Is at the venue so far, three against the Windies and one against Bangladesh, and won all of them.

Full seating capacity

The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has allowed a 100 per cent crowd in the stadium due to the low Covid-19 infection rate in the country.

However, according to the guidelines issued by the NCOC, individuals above 12 are required to be fully vaccinated to enter the stadium to witness the live action.

The cricket enthusiasts are required to bring their original NIC, NADRA-issued immunization certification for Covid-19 and ticket to access the stadium.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has ascertained the ticket prices for the 20-over games from Rs250 to Rs2,000.

Squads:

Pakistan

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

West Indies

Nicholas Pooran (captain), Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Rovman Powell

Schedule:

December 13 (Monday) – 1st T20I at 6pm PST

December 14 (Tuesday) – 2nd T20I at 6pm PST

December 16 (Thursday) – 3rd T20I at 6pm PST