Babar Hayat to lead Hong Kong for Ireland, Scotland tours

Babar Hayat has been appointed as the captain of the Hong Kong cricket team for their upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. He will take over the Hong Kong captaincy from Tanwir Afzal, who led the team in the ICC World Twenty20 in India earlier this year, but decided to step down to focus on his game.

Hayat will lead the 14-man squad for the upcoming series against Ireland and Scotland, with Aizaz Khan named as vice-captain. Hayat, who made his debut in 2014, has played 7 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 20 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) so far.

“I am honoured and extremely proud to be named the captain of Hong Kong,” Hayat said. “I must thank Tanwir for his efforts – the team has come a long way since he took over the captaincy and I’m sure I’ll be using his experience on the field. We have some exciting new faces for the upcoming tour, which will be a test in Ireland and Scotland’s home conditions.”

Ehsan Khan and Shahid Wasif are the new faces in the squad for the upcoming tour. Charlie Burke, HKCA’s director of cricket, and selector said that his fitness and determination will take the Hong Kong cricket forward. “Babar thoroughly deserves this opportunity,” said Burke.

“His fitness and his determination to take this team and Hong Kong cricket forward really excites me. He has led from the front in training and shown he is ready for a leadership role.”

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Hong Kong squad:

Babar Hayat (C), Aizaz Khan, Tanwir Afzal, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanveer Ahmed, Chris Carter, Ehsan Khan, Nizakat Khan, Waqas Khan, Adil Mehmood, Ehsan Nawaz, Anshuman Rath, Ninad Shah, Shahid Wasif