Sana Mir left out of T20 World Cup squad as Pakistan turn to youth for title push

The 34-year-old off-spinner had played all 24 of Pakistan's fixtures in the history of the tournament, however selectors have instead opted for emerging domestic talent

• Women's T20 World Cup 2020 squads: Full team lists

Pakistan have named uncapped opener Ayesha Naseem in their squad for next month's T20 World Cup as one of three changes to the side that faced England in Malaysia last month.

Bismah Maroof will lead the side in the Australia-based tournament after missing out on the early stages of the 2018 competition, while Muneeba Khan and Aimen Anwar have earned recalls after a year away from the setup having impressed during the national T20 triangular series earlier this month.

Naseem, 15, has been introduced to offer hard-hitting capabilities likely suited to Australian conditions, after the team's openers achieved a total of 34 runs during three T20 encounters with England in Malaysia before Christmas. Nahida Khan and Ayesha Zafar, who both failed to reach a double-figure score in the series, have both been dropped.

However, most notably the squad will be without the experience of stalwart Sana Mir – Pakistan's joint most-capped woman in the T20 international format, alongside Maroof – after selectors opted instead to focus on reinforcing the side with a host of youth talent.

The 34-year-old had featured for the country in every one of the 24 matches they have played at the tournament since its first edition in England in 2009, though her place in the squad became doubtful when she pulled out of last month's white-ball outings against England in Kuala Lumpur to "reset [her] future objectives and targets".

^{Bismah Maroof will lead the side after touring Australia with an ICC Development XI in November}

Chief selector Urooj Mumtaz – who Mir had captained at the 2009 and 2010 editions of the competition – cited the off-spinner's recent poor performances in the format as the reasoning behind her omission.

"Jotting down the squad for the T20 World Cup was a tough task as many players had staked a claim in the side," Mumtaz said in a statement.

"Though the players who have been left out will be disappointed and heart-broken, this, however, should act as a motivation for them to come back more strongly.

"Sana has been a phenomenal servant of Pakistan cricket while being an inspiration to many girls out there. Unfortunately, her recent performances in the T20 format were not on her side."

Maroof added: "We have tried to strike the right balance of youth and senior players. While selecting the squad we considered the recent performances in the international and domestic events.

"I wanted to have [Sana] in the squad over which I, along with the selection committee, had deep deliberations. We had to decide between her and the emerging players who had been impressing on all the stages.

"I respect and support the decision of the major group and hope she will continue to serve Pakistan women's cricket in future with the same passion and energy."

Pakistan squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riyaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Khan, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Syeda Aroob Shah