Hafeez, Malik recalled for T20s against Bangladesh.

ISLAMABAD -- Experienced duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik have been recalled in the 15-player squad for the Twenty20s against Bangladesh scheduled to be played in Lahore on January 24, 25 and 27.

Uncapped players Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt and Haris Rauf were also named in the squad while pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was also included in the team, said a press release issued here.

The 26-year-old Ahsan scored 131 runs in five matches at a strike-rate of just under 149 in the National T20 Cup in Faisalabad in October after scoring 178 runs at a strike-rate of over 130 for Quetta Gladiators in the HBL PSL 2019, while 24-year-old Amad scored 80 runs at a strike-rate of 170 and also took 10 wickets at an economy-rate of 7.62 in the Faisalabad event. 26-year-old Haris, who took six wickets in Faisalabad, is the second leading wicket-taker with 16 in Australia's Big Bash League.

They have replaced seven players who were part of the 16-player squad that lost 2-0 to Australia in November. Players missing out on selection were Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz.

Asif, Fakhar, Haris, Amir and Wahab were also members of the squad that lost 3-0 to Sri Lanka at home in October.

Pakistan chief selector and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said Pakistan lost eight of last nine T20s and as the number-one ranked side, this was unacceptable. 'We need to end the losing cycle and get back to winning habits leading into the upcoming Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup,' he said.

Misbah saud we tried alternate combinations in the series against Sri Lanka and Australia, but didn't work the way we had expected. 'Hafeez and Shoaib bring a total of 200 T20s between them and if you mix these with the other youngsters we have in the side, then I think it becomes a good blend of experience and youth,' he said.

He said seven players who have been missed out on...