Photo Credit: PCB
PCB Chair Mohsin Naqvi will unveil Pakistan’s white-ball captain in a media conference in Lahore on Sunday at 3.30pm.
Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi return for Australia matches but will be rested for the Zimbabwe tour.
Selectors have recognised standout domestic performers for the two tours as part of their strategy to build towards the ICC Champions Trophy defence.
The Pakistan cricket selectors have announced 15-member squads for the tours of Australia and Zimbabwe, where the national side will play three ODIs and three T20Is each. The Australia tour will run from 4-18 November, while the matches in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, will be played from 24 November to 5 December.
Pakistan’s white-ball captain will be unveiled by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi in a media conference in Lahore on Sunday at 3.30pm.
Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who were given a break from the last two Tests against England, return for the Australia matches but will be rested for the Zimbabwe tour. Similarly, Mohammad Rizwan will be available for the Australia matches and Zimbabwe ODIs, but will be rested from the Zimbabwe T20Is.
This approach follows the selectors’ rotation policy and provides opportunities to domestic performers, aligning with the team’s strategy for the ICC Champions Trophy and beyond.
Uncapped players in the ODI squad include Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Saim Ayub. Jahandad Khan and Salman Ali Agha join the T20I squad for the first time.
Kamran Ghulam, Omair Bin Yousuf, and Sufyan Moqim make their national side debut, having previously played limited-overs internationals. Kamran served as a concussion substitute for Haris Sohail against New Zealand in an ODI in January 2023, while Omair and Sufyan debuted in the T20I format against Hong Kong during the Asian Games men’s cricket competition.
Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain, player of the Champions One-Day Cup in Faisalabad last month with 17 wickets, also returns to the ODI side, having last represented Pakistan in an ODI against New Zealand in January 2023.
Apart from Babar, Naseem, Rizwan, Salman, and Shaheen, four other players have been selected in both the ODI and T20I squads. They are: Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, and Muhammad Irfan Khan.
Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Faisal Akram, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, and Saim Ayub are selected solely for the ODIs and will be replaced by Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufyan Moqim, and Usman Khan for the T20Is.
Seven ODI squad members – Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi – will depart for Melbourne on Monday, 28 October, with the remaining ODI players leaving on Tuesday, 29 October. Pakistan’s white-ball coach, Gary Kirsten, will join the squad in Melbourne on 28 October.
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Name of Author: PCB
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan, is the governing body for cricket in Pakistan. It oversees and organizes all tours and matches for the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Council since 1952, the PCB represents Pakistan’s men’s and women’s teams in international cricket tournaments.
