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Pakistan pick rookie Farhan for Zimbabwe tour

By Our Correspondent
June 23, 2018

KARACHI: Most leading Test-playing nations will see a tour to Zimbabwe as an opportunity to test their second-tier players.

But Pakistan on Friday decided against doing that as the national selectors opted for a full-strength touring party for the upcoming tour of the African nation.

This is not the first time that the selection committee headed by former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has decided against trying out any rookies even against a lower-ranked team. Even against Ireland, Pakistan sent their best players for the one-off Test and also for the bilateral T20 series against minnows Scotland.

Pakistan, who are the top-ranked team in the Twenty20 International format, will play a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe after featuring in a tri-nation T20 series that will also have Zimbabwe and Australia.

The tri-series begins on July 1 with the final on July 8, while the five-match ODI series begins on July 13.There is just one change in the squad with Sahibzada Farhan earning a maiden call-up with opener Ahmed Shehzad dropping out.

Farhan, a 22-year old opening batsman, has an impressive List A record, averaging over 52. He also played for Islamabad United in the PSL this season, but was somewhat underwhelming, scoring 91 runs in five innings. Asif Ali and Hussain Talat, who both found themselves called up to the T20I side against West Indies in Karachi, have retained their places, with Asif also earning a spot in the ODI side for the first time.

Pakistan haven’t played an ODI since a five-match series in New Zealand in January. From that squad they have dropped Azhar Ali, with the left-handed pair of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq likely to open the batting. Junaid Khan returns to the side, having missed the New Zealand series, while Imad Wasim has failed to fully recover from a knee injury that has been a persistent issue for the allrounder.

Babar Azam has been named in the 16-member ODI squad, though a final decision on the 23-year old will be taken after assessing his recovery from the arm fracture that kept him out of the much of the tour of the UK.

Mohammad Amir, who had asked to be rested for part of the Zimbabwe tour, has been named in both squads; coach Mickey Arthur was unwilling to allow him to miss the tour. Yasir Shah, who missed the UK tour with a stress fracture, finds a place in the ODI squad. It is an intriguing development, since Yasir last played an ODI in October 2016; depending on conditions, Pakistan could field a twin-legspin attack, with Shadab Khan also part of the squad.

Squad (Twenty20): Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan Shinwari, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan.

Squad (ODI): Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Baber Azam (subject to fitness), Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan Shinwari, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail. —with inputs from agencies