Pakistan named wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan as its new white-ball captain and recalled Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for next month´s white-ball series in Australia.
All-rounder Salman Ali Agha was named Rizwan´s deputy in both ODIs and T20s. Babar was dropped for the last two test matches against England for his indifferent form in red-ball cricket while Afridi and Naseem were rested as Pakistan went for an all-spin attack to beat the tourists 2-1.
Babar quit the white-ball captaincy earlier this month because he wanted to focus on his batting.
Pakistan had below-par performances in white-ball cricket over the last 12 months. It couldn´t make it to the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup in India last year and also made an early exit from the T20 World Cup this year after losing to the U.S. and India in the group stage.
“Babar is our asset and such players come after a long time,” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Sunday while announcing the new captain and vice-captain. “He talked to the coaches and told me that he wanted to focus on his game. We all want him to regain his batting form.”
Pakistan opens its white-ball series in Australia with the first ODI in Melbourne on Nov. 4. Adelaide and Perth will host the remaining two ODIs before Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart host three T20s from Nov. 14-18. Babar, Afridi and Naseem will be rested for the three ODIs and three T20s in Zimbabwe with the selectors picking several top performers from domestic white-ball cricket. Pakistan will play all six white-ball games against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo from Nov. 24-Dec. 5.
Fakhar Zaman, who took to social media in favor of Babar after he was dropped for the two test matches against England, and Imam-ul-Haq were not included in any of its four white-ball squads. Both left-handed batters were earlier also omitted from the list of 25 players who were offered central contracts by the PCB.
Naqvi said Fakhar failed a fitness test and has also not yet responded to the cricket board´s query about his message on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Definitely there´s an issue with his tweet, but more importantly he didn´t clear the fitness test,” Naqvi said. “If selection committee is not considering any player, it doesn´t mean a player starts tweeting, it´s not allowed.”
All-rounder Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed are the other notable white-ball players who have been left out due to their poor form.
Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain was recalled after his recent stellar performance in the domestic Champions Cup one-day tournament in which he took 17 wickets. Hasnain played his last international against New Zealand in January 2023 but was sidelined after sustaining an ankle injury during the Sri Lanka Premier League last year.
Australia tour squads:
ODIs: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
T20s: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan
Zimbabwe tour squads:
ODIs: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir
T20s: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan.