West Indies wins toss, elects to field in T20 vs Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Virus-hit West Indies won the toss and elected to field in the first Twenty20 against Pakistan on Monday.
West Indies is without three players — left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell and allrounders Roston Chase and Kyle Mayers — who tested positive for the coronavirus in Karachi and are self-isolating for 10 days.
West Indies is also missing regular skipper Kieron Pollard, who was ruled out for the series due to a hamstring injury, while another experienced allrounder Andre Russell is playing the Big Bash League in Australia.
West Indies, playing their first Twenty20 since the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, awarded debuts to fast bowler Dominic Drakes and top order batter Shamarh Brookes.
Pakistan named a full-strength side for the opening game of the three-match series with Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim the three fast bowlers. Vice-captain Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz are the two spin options.
The top order batting lineup features the top two run-getters in T20s this year — Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam — with hard-hitting batters Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali and Asif Ali forming the strong middle order.
The Twenty20 series will be followed by the three ODIs between the two teams — also at Karachi.
___
Line-ups:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.
West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Devon Thomas, Nicholas Pooran (captain), Rovman Powell, Odean Smith, Dominic Drakes, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Oshane Thomas.
___
More AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports