Amir dropped from Pakistan's T20 squad

Pakistan left out pace bowler Mohammad Amir from their 15-man Twenty20 international squad to face Australia while uncapped left-arm quick Waqas Maqsood earned a call-up on Thursday.

Amir, who was handed a five-year ban for spot-fixing in 2011 and returned to international cricket two years ago, had been omitted from the squad for the ongoing Test series due to his patchy form.

"Waqas Maqsood has been drafted in the T20 squad after his recent performances in domestic cricket and playing for Pakistan 'A' team in the recent series (against New Zealand)," chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said.

"Similarly, Imad Wasim makes a comeback in the team after his form and fitness was monitored by the selection committee during the current domestic matches."

Pakistan and Australia will play three T20s with the first match on October 24 in Abu Dhabi. The second and third games of the series will be played in Dubai on October 26 and 28.

Pakistan squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf.