Amir, Shan Masood named in Pak ODI squad

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has called fast bowler Mohammad Amir and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan for the national team’s ODI series against South Africa.Besides having five changes in the Test team, two uncapped players have also been included in the 16-member squad for the one-dayers. The prominent drops from the ODIs Pakistan last played against New Zealand were Asif Ali and Junaid Khan while Haris Sohail is recovering from a knee injury. Amir, Rizwan, Hussain Talat and Shan Masood are the changes from the previous ODI team that played in the UAE against the Kiwis with the latter two would be looking forward to earn the ODI caps.After having played just 10 ODIS and taking just three wickets since his Champions Trophy 2017 final participation, fire in Amirs’ cylinders evaporated that led to his ouster from the team. He averaged 100.66 but his return to the Test side, Amir had eight wickets at an average of 23.87 in the first two five-day matches. As of Rizwan, the PCB has maybe planning to ease some burden off captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s shoulders probably on the wicket-keeping front. However, its been revealed that he is brought in as a backup wicket-keeper to train him to know the international feel from the dressing room.The players who were in the Test side Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, M Abbas and Yasir Shah have been replaced by M Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Talat, Usman Shinwari and Imad Wasim, respectively.Led by Sarfraz, the side have three openers in Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and shan Masood, four middle-order batsmen in Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Hafeez, Talat, two all-rounders in Imad, and Faheem Ashraf, one spinner Shadab Khan, four fast bowlers in Amir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Shinwari and Rizwan as a second wicketkeeper/batsman.Pakistan will open its ODI campaign against South Africa on January 19 at Port Elizabeth. “The selected team is a unanimous choice of the selection panel, including Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur. While selecting the squad, we have tried to maintain consistency, taking into consideration player performances in white-ball cricket as well as looking ahead to the upcoming ODI challenges, including the World Cup,” chairman of Pakistan’s cricket selectors Inzamam-ul-Haq in an audio statement.On the non-selection of fast bowler M Abbas, Inzamam said: “He is very much in our scheme of things, but we have to manage his workload intelligently and smartly. He has just made a return following an injury, and we would like to give him sufficient rest before considering him for future assignments.“Amir’s good performance in the Test series not only made him an automatic selection, but also helped us in the decision to rest Abbas. “Junaid Khan has not been considered for this tour because we feel he has to work more on his bowling since the fitness issues that he had cut short his series against New Zealand. “Asif Ali has been dropped due to an inconsistent and below-par performance. In his place, we have decided to give Hussain Talat an opportunity to show his mettle and skills. He is a good left-handed batsman, who can also bowl.”Hussain Tallat, the uncapped player in the side, represented Pakistan in 11 T20Is. In 59 List-A 50-over matches since making his debut in 2018, Hussain has scored 1,402 runs at just under 38. He has also picked up 14 wickets with his medium-past bowling. In the 2018-19 season, Hussain has scored 194 runs in seven matches with a century, while he took six wickets.ODI Series schedule19 Jan – 1st ODI, Port Elizabeth (d/n)22 Jan – 2nd ODI, Durban (d/n)25 Jan – 3rd ODI, Centurion ((d/n)27 Jan – 4th ODI, Johannesburg (d)30 Jan – 5th ODI, Cape Town (d/n).

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