Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, [email protected]
THE Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that the star duo of Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi will not be part of the team that is set to tour Zimbabwe for a white-ball series starting on November 5.
PCB announced their squads for both the T20Is and One Day Internationals (ODIs) on Sunday afternoon.
Zimbabwe and Pakistan are scheduled to face off in three T20Is and as many ODIs all taking place at Queens Sports Club.
Azam, Afridi and Naseem Shah who were all omitted from the last two Tests against England, return for the Australia matches (which starts before the tour of Zimbabwe) but will be rested for the Chevrons games.
Similarly, Mohammad Rizwan will be available for the Australia matches and Zimbabwe ODIs, but will be rested from the T20Is against the Chevrons.
Ahmed Daniyal, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Tayyab Tahir are the other players apart from Salman Ali Agha who have been selected for both the formats.
Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Faisal Akram, Kamran Ghulam, Rizwan, Saim Ayub and Shahnawaz Dahani have been picked in the ODI side and will be replaced by Arafat Minhas, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi and Usman Khan for the shortest format of the game.
Haseebullah, Rauf, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Salman Ali Agha are the four players who will be part of the squads from the start of the Australia tour to the end of Zimbabwe tour.
“This approach follows the selectors’ rotation policy and provides opportunities to domestic performers, aligning with the team’s strategy for the ICC Champions Trophy and beyond,” read a statement from PCB.
The tour gets underway with the ODIs slated for November 24, 26 and 28. The three T20Is will be played on December 1, 3 and 5 at Queens Sports Club.
Pakistan Squads for Zimbabwe tour:
ODI Squad: Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir
T20I Squad: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan.
— @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter