Pakistan win toss, opt to bowl first against Zimbabwe in first ODI

This will be Pakistan's second ODI series this month after they beat Australia 2-1 earlier in November.

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Zimbabwe in the opening match of their One Day International (ODI) series being played at Queens Sports Club Bulawayo.

This is Pakistan's second ODI series this month after they beat Australia 2-1 earlier in November in their own backyard.

Pakistan make several changes to their lineup, including giving maiden caps to four players.

Pakistan's ODI squad, led by Mohammad Rizwan, reached Zimbabwe on Wednesday and had three extensive practice sessions in the lead up to the ODI series.

In the 15-member squad Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been replaced with uncapped duo of Abrar Ahmed and Ahmed Daniyal along with pacer Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir.

Former fast bowler and member National Men's Selection Committee, Aqib Javed has been appointed the interim white-ball head coach of the Pakistan team until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at home.

The ODI series against Zimbabwe will be his first assignment after he joined the team on Friday.

Pakistan and Zimbabwe last faced each other in the 50-over format in November 2020 in Rawalpindi where Pakistan beat the visitors 2-1. Pakistan, on their last visit to Zimbabwe whitewashed the Chevrons in a five-match ODI series in July 2018.

Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan's ODI captain, while speaking at a press conference, said: "The ODI series against Zimbabwe is equally important for us as we aim to test out our bench strength and plan towards the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at home. With the help of the Almighty, we aim to keep the winning momentum from out last ODI series going.

"With the trio of our main players resting up after the Australia series, it will be exciting to see other players putting their hands up and helping the team at various times during the 50-over contests.

"Having played against the home team various times, we do expect them to put up challenges for us during the three ODIs but crucially this series will also test out temperament in terms of backing up a historic win in Australia."

Playing XI:
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Haseebullah Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Aamir Jamal, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Faisal Akram

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Joylord Gumbie (wk), Trevor Gwandu, Tawandanashe Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (c)