Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik and star fast-bowler Mohammad Amir have been rested for the upcoming limited-overs series against Zimbabwe.
The 22-member squad was announced by the head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq on Monday at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore.
The team will be led by star batsman Babar Azam and will feature a new face in young Abdullah Shafique.
The 20-year-old had a stunning National T20 Cup for Central Punjab where he managed to score 358 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 133.
Talking to the media at the time of announcing the squad, Misbah revealed that the senior trio has been rested to give youngsters more opportunities in the upcoming series.
“The decision to rest players like Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan Shinwari and Sarfaraz Ahmed was taken to give the younger players an extended run in the upcoming series,” he said.
The 46-year-old further went on to explain why there are not many changes in the squad for the home series.
“The reason we’ve not made too many changes in the squad is that as we all know, from now on, every One-Day International will have a great significance as they are a part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League,” said Misbah. “Therefore, we cannot afford to make too many changes and we can also not take any team lightly.”
He continued by saying: “We want to have some stability and keep a good combination. So our focus is on giving youngsters who have been with the team for some time in the long run so they can showcase their talent.”
Squad:
Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Imamul Haq, Usman Shinwari, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abid Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Usman Qadir, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Musa, Wahab Riaz.