Shaheen Shah Afridi will continue to captain Pakistan in the one-day format as they begin the build up to the ODI World Cup next year with a tri-series involving England and Sri Lanka. The tri-nation series, set to begin on October 18, will be Pakistan’s first ODI assignment after they defeated Australia in a home bilateral series in June.
Fakhar and Saim return
From the squad that faced Australia, Pakistan have excluded six players, including Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat, both of whom have been included in the T20Is against Sri Lanka preceding the tri-series. The two players were initially added to the ODI set-up in the absence of Fakhar and Saim, who missed the Australia series with their respective injuries.
In their stead, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, and Saad Baig have been called up. Nawaz, who fell out of favour with the selectors late last year, earned his place back with decent returns in the Asian Games, especially in the final against India. He scored a resilient 94-run innings to take his team close to a win in the face of India’s daunting 212-run target.
Bowling attack with old and new
Razaullah has been fast-tracked into white-ball cricket after his incredible Test debut against England last month, where he impressed both with the ball and bat. He will form the pace attack alongside Pakistan’s trio of experienced pacers Naseem, Shaheen, and Haris.
The spin attack will be spearheaded by Abrar, who will be supported by Arafat Minhas and Sufiyan Moqim. Salman Ali Agha, who was recently stripped of captaincy and his place in the T20I side, and Shadab Khan will take up the spin all-rounder duties alongside the specialist spinners.
Babar Azam, meanwhile, has retained his spot in the ODI team after losing the place in the shortest format. The same doesn’t hold true for Mohammad Rizwan, who is currently in the midst of an ongoing investigation by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
Ghazi Ghori will be Pakistan’s first-choice wicketkeeper for the tri-series. Ghori, who made his ODI debut in March this year, has played as designated wicketkeeper in three out of the four games he has played so far.
Pakistan ODI squad for tri-series against Sri Lanka and England
Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim
OUT: Abdul Samad, Shamyl Hussain, Sahibzada Farhan, Rohail Nazir, Maaz Sadaqat, Ahmad Daniyal
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