Pak vs Afg: Will Men in Green make any changes in squad for second T20I?

The Pakistani side might make one change in the playing XI for the second T20I match against Afghanistan — scheduled to take place on Sunday (today) in Sharjah — after losing the first match of the series. 

The Shadab Khan-led unit could opt for one of the all-rounders with Mohammad Nawaz and Iftikhar Ahmed available on the bench in place of speedster Zaman Khan as the Sharjah pitch was more conducive for the spinners during the series opener.

The Green Shirts are 1-0 down in the three-match series against the neighbouring country. 

"This series is for our youngsters. We tried to give them confidence. Sometimes, this can happen due to the nerves of international cricket but we have to back them because they have the talent, and hopefully, they'll show it in the next game,” Shadab said after the first T20I, which indicated that Pakistan are likely to give a proper run to the young players during the series.

“These players are talented and we are sure about that. We should not make someone a star after just one good performance or discard them after one failure. We will back these players and give them full opportunity to perform during the series,” he added.

While chasing a target of only 93 runs, Afghanistan reached home in 17.5 overs for the loss of four wickets during the first T20I on Friday.

This was the first win for Afghanistan over Pakistan in international cricket.

Debutant Ihsanullah claimed two wickets in his first over to put the batting side under pressure. However, Afghanistan held their nerve to chase down the target.

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who finished the match with a six, scored an unbeaten run-a-ball 38 with the help of three fours and a maximum.

Pakistan likely playing XI for second T20I:

Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Abdullah Shafique, Tayyab Tahir, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz/Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah and Ihsanullah.