Pakistan ODI squad named for New Zealand series

LAHORE: The National Selection Committee headed by Inzamam ul Haq, after consultations with Captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Head Coach Mickey Arthur, has announced on Friday the 15 member  squad for One-day International  series against New Zealand.

Allrounders Mohammad Hafeez and Imad Wasim staged a comeback in the 15-member squad for the three-match one-day series in UAE.

Hafeez, 38, who is a veteran of 200 one-day internationals, missed out on Pakistan´s one-day series in Zimbabwe in July this year and was also left out of the Asia Cup in September.

But he showed good form in the 3-0 Twenty20 series win against Australia and in the first Twenty20 match against New Zealand -- both in the United Arab Emirates -- to force his way back in the side.

Wasim has not been part of the one-day squad since Pakistan´s series against Sri Lanka in October last year, and has been plagued by fitness problems.

The first two one-day internationals will be played in Abu Dhabi on 7 and 9 November, with the third in Dubai on 13 November.

Pace spearhead Mohammad Amir has been left out of the squad since his unimpressive performance in the Asia Cup where he went wicketless in three matches.

Opener Shan Masood was surprisingly dropped from the Asia Cup squad despite not playing a single match and scoring hundreds in each innings for Pakistan ´A´ against New Zealand ´A´ in the four-day game in Dubai this week.

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari

The ODI series against New Zealand will commence from November 7.The first two matches of the series will be played in Abu Dhabi on November 7 and 9, respectively, whereas the third and final ODI of the series will be played in Dubai on November 11.