Pakistan name Fakhar, Haris in ODI squad for NZ series

KARACHI: Pakistan on Thursday recalled prolific left-handed batsmen Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail for their three-match ODI series against New Zealand.

Both these batsmen were not part of the initial list of 22 probables but were added later after they passed fitness tests.

The 16-man team was announced by the chief selector Shahid Afridi at a news conference here at the National Stadium. The 29-year old Gujrat-born batsman Tayyab Tahir and leg-spinner Usama Mir were also rewarded for their glorious display in the recently-concluded Pakistan Cup.

Tayyab remained the leading scorer of the domestic one-day event with 573 runs while Usama topped the bowling chart with 28 wickets. Both represented Central Punjab which also emerged as champions.

All-rounder Shadab Khan was not picked due to a finger injury which he sustained in a Big Bash game recently.

“I talked to Shadab yesterday. He told me that he will be able to play these three ODIs. I told him to go to the field in the morning and bowl a few overs and then let me know about his situation. He bowled today and he does not feel comfortable as far as his injured finger is concerned,” said Afridi.

Afridi said that his pick, Usama Mir, is in very good form adding that he is a very good bowler and he did well in this one-day season, also is an aggressive batsman and a good fielder.

Pacer Haris Rauf has also returned to the squad. Kamran Ghulam, who was part of the Test squad against New Zealand, has also been included in the squad for the ODI series for his recent fine performances with the bat in the domestic circuit.

The three matches against New Zealand will be held here at the National Stadium on January 9, 11 and 13. Hard-hitting left-handed batsman Sharjeel Khan could not make his place in the squad.

“I had selected Sharjeel in the 24 probables but we did not get any green signal from the chairman,” Afridi said.

Asked whether the team has been finalized with consensus Afridi said they want captain Babar Azam to give his input.

“We want Babar to give his input. We also give him options and we listen to him. We also want Babar to be a good captain and for this team combination is also very important. We are on the same page. It does not mean that we are on the same page on every decision because the skipper has his own role and the selection committee has its own role and there, I don’t think we should be on one page as the selection committee has its own responsibility and Babar has his own responsibility,” he said.

“This is a seat where more people will not be happy with me and I cannot make everyone happy. But here we have to make decisions on merit. The issue is that we invest in a player and then he is discarded. If a player performs in test cricket but he does not play in T20 so he is even discarded from test cricket,” said Afridi. “We have to clarify that these are your Test players and they should not be included in One-day and T20s as their performance is affected because Test cricket is totally a different format. The ODI World Cup is coming and we give Babar’s options of Usama Mir and Tayyab Tahir and when he will form the team these players would have played by then. Some have already played and I think team formation will not be difficult,” he said.

“We have more options. If we talk about Haseebullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Huraira, Usman Salahuddin, Faizan Riaz, Mubashir Khan, Sahibzada Farhan and even Ahmed Shehzad is also delivering consistently. We will not forget anyone. These players should note that they are on the radar of the selection committee,” he said.

Afridi said that they should utilize their players quite carefully when asked about the workload management.

Pakistan has picked one stumper in the one-day side in the shape of Mohammad Rizwan but Afridi made it clear that they will have an option in Sarfaraz Ahmed if Rizwan gets injured.

“I am very happy that Sarfaraz returned to the side after a long time and performed brilliantly. Now we have Mohammad Rizwan available for both one-day and T20. I will tell you that he is the main player. If Rizwan gets injured, we will have an option of Sarfaraz,” Afridi said. “But we don’t want to mix it up. If Sarfaraz performs well in Tests and if he does not click in one-day matches, pressure will fall. We will have to keep some players for Tests and some for one-day and T20s. Whenever we will feel that Rizwan is tired or is not performing then we will have Sarfaraz,” Afridi said.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir and Usama Mir.