Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman return as PCB announce 16-man squad for New Zealand ODIs

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced the 16-man squad for the New Zealand ODIs, which are beginning on January 9th in Karachi. Pacer Haris Rauf returnedwhile attacking opener Fakhar Zaman and middle-order batter Haris Sohail have also been recalled.

Zaman last appeared during the group game against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup, whereas, middle-order batter Sohail will be seen playing in ODIs for the first time since October 2020. Rauf, on the other hand, was out since his Test debut in Rawalpindi, where he injured his quad on the first day itself.

Shahid Afridi, the new interim chief selector picked the squad that doesn’t include star leggie Shadab Khan. Offering his explanation on Shadab’s omission, Afridi said he had a word with him this morning and upon knowing that he is still feeling discomfort due to the finger injury, Shadab wasn’t picked for the ODIs. In his absence, lanky leg-spinner Usama Mir is picked.

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"I spoke to Shadab this morning, he wasn’t feeling comfortable due to finger injury, that’s why he is not selected for the series against New Zealand," Shahid Afridi said.

Stressing on the fact that the squad is picked considering two things, a) looking at the future and b) based on their performances in the domestic cricket, Afridi said,

"It was an important responsibility for me, there is no dearth of talent in Pakistan and it made me feel good. I am here for a limited time but important was to keep Pakistan’s future in mind.

"Our mandate was to name squads for series against New Zealand only but we have made our choices keeping the future in our mind. We have also given importance to performances in domestic cricket," the former Pakistan captain added.

The three-match ODI series will begin on January 9th with the second ODI to take place on January 11th and third on January 13th. All matches to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Here’s Pakistan 16-man squad for the New Zealand ODIs –

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