Watch: Sohaib Maqsood answers critics with the bat ahead of T20 World Cup

Under immense pressure and with media reports claiming Sohaib Maqsood may lose his place in the T20 World Cup squad, the Southern Punjab opening batsman let his bat do the talking. 

It was a crucial match for Sohaib, who had failed to fire on any cylinder in the last three matches that he played. 

However, right-handed batsman flogged Northern bowlers for fours and sixes all over the park when the match went down. 

Maqsood scored an impressive, quick-fire 75 runs from 47 balls. During his innings, he smashed 8 fours and four sixes. 

It was Sohaib Maqsood's innings, largely, that enabled South Punjab to post a respectable 175/6 from 20 overs. However, his feat was not impressive enough to win the game for the team as Northern chased the total successfully. 

A fiery half-century by Nawaz and a blistering 40 by Haider Ali ensured Northern won the game, in the last over of the match, by four wickets. 

Earlier, sources had told Geo News that former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik is likely to be named in the squad, while aggressive batsmen Azam Khan and Sohaib Maqsood are likely to be dropped.

Mohammad Hasnain's prospects of retaining his place in the squad are also looking dim due to his lackluster performance in the ongoing National T20 Cup.

Chief Selector Muhammad Waseem held consultations with skipper Babar Azam and six other selectors, a couple of days ago, on making changes to the team.

"The chief selector has told players to perform fearlessly in the T20 National Cup, saying that it will not serve as anyone's trial," sources had said.

Before this match, Sohaib Maqsood had scored only 42 runs so far in the three matches he played, at an average of 14 runs.

Pakistan T20 World Cup squad

• Babar Azam (captain)
• Shadab Khan (vice-captain)
• Asif Ali
• Azam Khan (wicketkeeper)
• Haris Rauf
• Hasan Ali
• Imad Wasim
• Khushdil Shah
• Mohammad Hafeez
• Mohammad Hasnain
• Mohammad Nawaz
• Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper)
• Mohammad Wasim Jnr
• Shaheen Shah Afridi
• Sohaib Maqsood

Traveling reserves – Fakhar Zaman, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir