Hafeez out of ODI series against West Indies

Opening batsman fails to recover from knee injury

LAHORE: Fitness concerns have led Pakistan veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez to be dropped from the upcoming three-match ODI series against West Indies in UAE.

A member of the selection committee confirmed The Express Tribune that the former Pakistan T20I captain has been unable to recover from his knee injury, which he picked during the One-Day series against England.

Young left-handed opener Sami Aslam also missed out on a place in the squad after managing to score just 33 runs in three matches against England.

Middle-order batsmen Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq are ready to return to the ODI side after a series of impressive performances during the recently concluded National T20 Cup.

Umar, who was the highest scorer in the tournament with 363 runs at an average of 72.60 , last represented the Men in Green in the 50-over format in the ICC World Cup 2015.

On the other hand, Shafiq, who was fourth in the list of highest run getters, last played for Pakistan in an ODI match in October 2015 against Zimbabwe.

Fast-bowler Rahat Ali is also set to make a comeback in the ODI squad in place of Umar Gul, whereas either wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan or opener Khalid Latif will make it to the final 15-member squad for the series.

The official ODI squad is expected to be announced on Saturday, September 24, however the Test squad will be announced later.

Probable squad:

Azhar Ali (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper-batsman), Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Yasir Shah, Khalid Latif/ Mohammad Rizwan