Pakistan will be playing two ODIs against Ireland followed by five matches against England and chief selector Inzamam feels the squad has what it takes to succeed. PHOTO COURTEST: PCB
Pakistan will be playing two ODIs against Ireland followed by five against England as they look to improve their ranking.
They play two matches versus Ireland on August 18 and 20, then take on England from August 24-September 4.
Sharjeel had a good outing for Pakistan A against Sri Lanka A and England Lions, as he was one of the top-scorers along with Babar Azam, while Hasan and Nawaz strengthened their case with decent all-rounder performances on the tour.
On the other hand, Gul impressed with the ball during a local tournament in Karachi played over Ramazan as he bowled with pace and looked sharper and fitter.
Inzamam, meanwhile, selected Aslam after his extraordinary outing in the third Test at Edgbaston in which he scored 82 and 70 and missed out on a deserving century.
Fast-bowler Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan were once again overlooked, while Ahmad Shahzad and Umar Akmal were not even named in the probables as they remain out of the selectors’ good books, who want them to improve their discipline before any chance of returning to the national team plans.
“While picking the squad, the team management and skipper were consulted and all concerned gave their consent in this regard. The team has been selected keeping in mind the conditions and the recent performances of some players in domestic and A Team tours,” Inzamam said of his 15-man squad selection.
“The team is a fine blend of experience and youth and the selectors believe this team will do well.”
Interestingly, Mohammad Hafeez has been categorised as a middle-order batsmen, to which Test cricketer Faisal Iqbal reacted on social media writing that all genuine middle-order batsmen should commit suicide since there are different rules for different players.
Meanwhile, Junaid also took to twitter to vent out his frustration on the snub, stating, “I can’t understand on what basis I have been left out of the team. Is it performance or is it fitness?”
Pakistan ODI squad
- Azhar Ali (captain)
- Sharjeel Khan
- Sami Aslam
- Mohammad Hafeez
- Baber Azam
- Shoaib Malik
- Sarfraz Ahmad
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Mohammad Amir
- Wahab Riaz
- Hasan Ali
- Umer Gul
- Immad Wasim
- Yasir Shah
- Mohammad Nawaz
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2016.
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