Babar, Saim dropped as PCB announces squad for Bangladesh ODI series
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, leaving out star batter Babar Azam and all-rounder Saim Ayub.
Pakistan opening batsman Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the upcoming One Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh after suffering a hamstring injury.
Zaman, who had played an aggressive knock in the ICC T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka, will now focus on regaining his fitness at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.
All three ODIs will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka from 11 to 15 March, according to a statement issued by the cricket board.
Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will continue to lead the ODI side, with six uncapped players included in the squad.
Ironically, Pakistan informed Pakistan T20 captain
The uncapped players are Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan and Shamyl Hussain.
Among them, Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood and Shamyl Hussain were part of the Pakistan Shaheens squad that played against England Lions in Abu Dhabi recently.
Notably, former ODI captain Babar and all-rounder Saim have been omitted from the squad.
For the unversed, Pakistan last played an ODI series in November last year, when they hosted Sri Lanka and completed a 3-0 clean sweep.
The series marked the second ODI assignment for captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, whose maiden stint in charge came in a home series against South Africa, which Pakistan won 2-1.
15-member squad:
Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha and Shamyl Hussain
Series schedule:
March 11 – First ODI at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
March 13 – Second ODI at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
March 15 – Third ODI at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka. Staff Report
