Pakistan have included the uncapped duo of Asif Afridi and Mohammad Haris for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia. Asif was impressive in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League, picking up eight wickets in five games for Multan Sultans. 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Haris showcased his ball-striking ability by scoring 166 runs from five games at an incredible strike rate of 186.5. Both these players have been performing in the ongoing Pakistan Cup as well, prompting the selectors to draft them into the squad.
Among these two, Haris was already named in the squad for the home series New Zealand last year which was eventually cancelled. While a 20-member squad has been picked for the three-match ODI series that comes under the ODI Super League, the selectors have omitted Abdullah Shafique, Imam-Ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel from the group for the lone T20I."This is a reward for their hard work and consistent performances in the domestic circuit," Muhammad Wasim, Chair of the Selection Committee said on the selections of Haris and Afridi. "Their selections are also a message for all domestic players that their performances are being followed and whenever an opportunity arises, they will be rewarded with a national team call-up." Australia are an equally outstanding team in the shorter formats of the game and, as such, we have decided to go with the best available and most experienced players. The four white-ball matches have significant context as the 50-over games count towards the 2023 World Cup qualification and the 20-over will be a repeat of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final."
ODI squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-Ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir
T20I squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir
