The 16-person Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) team for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand was announced on Thursday. Batters Haris Sohail and Fakhar Zaman were recalled.
Fakhar Zaman, a left-handed hitter, has fully recovered from his injury, and Haris Sohail has been called up for the series as well. In October 2020, Haris last participated in an ODI for Pakistan.
Uncapped Tayyab Tahir, who performed admirably in domestic competitions, has received his first call. Shadab Khan, who is injured, has been replaced in the squad by Usama Mir.
Shadab wasn’t feeling well owing to a finger injury, which is why he wasn’t selected for the series against New Zealand, according to interim selectors chairman Shahid Afridi.
Before declaring the team for the series, Afridi claimed that the selection committee had spoken with the team management.
The ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth of January will see the three games of the ODI series played in Karachi.
Before deciding on this squad, we asked Babar and Saqlain for their top 16 choices. We then discussed these issues in areas where we felt the team might be improved, Afridi stated.
There is no shortage of talent in Pakistan, so it was a big duty for me and it felt good. I’m only going to be here for a short while, but it’s necessary to think about Pakistan’s future.”
“Our mandate was to simply declare the squads for the New Zealand series, but we made our decisions with the long term in mind. Performances in domestic cricket have also received attention from us, he continued.
Shahid Afridi
According to Shahid Afridi, he opposes allowing players to join leagues while the home season is in progress. He stated that in addition to being advised to return at least 10 days before the commencement of the Pakistan Super League, players who have been released for the Bangladesh Premier League (PSL).
Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir. And Usama Mir makes up Pakistan’s team for the ODI series.