LAHORE: Right-handed batter Mohammad Haris will be leading Pakistan Shaheens in the Asian Cricket Council Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup where the national side is set to lock horns with arch-rival India.

Prior to leaving for the tournament, set to commence in Oman on October 18, the Shaheens will undergo a camp at the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre in Karachi from October 11 to 15.

The Haris-led squad will take on last year’s finalists India A in their opening match on October 19.

The side, scheduled to depart for Oman on October 16, also includes Abdul Samad, Ahmed Daniyal, Yasir Khan and Zaman Khan who will be representing Pakistan Shaheens for the first time, said the Pakistan Cricket Board in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, Samad featured for UMT Markhors in the recently concluded Champions One-Day Cup 2024-25 and scored at a strike rate of 122.88, whereas Daniyal playing for Nurpur Lions bagged 10 wickets and Yasir and Zaman featured for Allied Bank Stallions in four and two matches, respectively.

Eight teams will participate in the event with four teams divided into two groups. All matches will take place at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat. Group A consists of Afghanistan A, Bangladesh A’, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka A, while defending champions Pakistan Shaheens are slotted in Group B alongside India A, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Shaheens’ second outing in the tournament will be against hosts Oman on October 21, followed by their final group match will be against the UAE on October 23.

The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals scheduled to take place on 25 October. The final will take place on Sunday, October 27.

Shaheens squad

Mohammad Haris (captain), Abdul Samad, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohmmad Imran Jnr, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Moqim, Yasir Khan and Zaman Khan

Team management

Umar Rasheed (head coach-cum-manager), Imran Farhat (batting coach), Riffatullah Mohmand (fielding coach), Usman Hashmi (analyst) and Syed Mohammad Asad (physiotherapist)