Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday has announced a 16-member Squad for the upcoming ODI Series against World Champions Australia.
The series will start in Sharjah on March 22 and culminate in Dubai on March 31.
The selectors have rested six players from the ODI Squad including Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi, that lost 2-3 to South Africa earlier this year.
Shoaib Malik has been appointed the captain in Sarfaraz’s absence. The 37-year-old has played 279 ODIs, including 38 as captain, winning 25 and losing 13. Shoaib has scored 7,379 runs with nine centuries and taken 156 wickets.
The eight players have been replaced by Abid Ali, Haris Sohail, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Saad Ali, Umar Akmal and Yasir Shah.
The cricketers have either demonstrated in the domestic circuit that they have the ability and are ready to compete at the top level or have reclaimed fitness or form.
The squad includes three openers (Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood), four middle-order batsmen (Haris Sohail, Saad Ali, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal), wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, wrist spinner Yasir Shah, two all-rounders (Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim) and five fast bowlers (Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain and Usman Shinwari).
Squad (in alphabetical order)
Shoaib Malik (captain)
Abid Ali
Faheem Ashraf
Haris Sohail
Imad Wasim
Imam-ul-Haq
Junaid Khan
Mohammad Abbas
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Hasnain
Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper)
Saad Ali
Shan Masood
Umar Akmal
Usman Shinwari
Yasir Shah
