Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have returned to Pakistan's T20 set up ahead of the upcoming World Cup. The Pakistan selectors have picked the leading pair for the upcoming assignment at home against Australia which will serve as their last international preparation for the T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka.

The duo, alongside Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf, were not picked for Pakistan's previous assignment against Sri Lanka. All four players, however, played in the Big Bash League. While Rauf had a successful season, Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen struggled in their maiden stint in the competition, with the left-arm pacer leaving early due to an injury.

Pakistan are one of the very few sides to officially name their squad for the World Cup. While Babar and Shaheen are now back in the mix, the chances of Rizwan and Rauf making it to the 15-member squad appear bleak with the duo not picked for these three T20Is against Australia.

Shadab Khan, who had returned recently to the Pakistan setup, retains his place led by Salman Agha. Khawaja Nafay, who impressed on debut earlier this month, keeps his place in the squad and could be in line to become their first-choice wicketkeeper.

The matches are scheduled to be held on January 29, 31 and February 1. All three T20Is will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq