Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test captain Inzamamul Haq, Wednesday recalled right-handed opener Ahmad Shahzad to a 15-man named squad for the upcoming three-match Twety20I series against New Zealand. Azhar Ali, who had replaced Shahzad in the ODI squad, did not find a place in the T20 squad. The only other change from the ODI squad was the inclusion of batsman Umar Amin in place of Imamul Haq. Shahzad’s recent form bodes well for Pakistan: he has scored 403 runs in seven innings in the ongoing Departmental One-day Cup at an average of 67.16 and strike rate of 100.24.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) national selection committee announced the decision after consultation with captain Sarfraz Ahmed and head coach Mickey Arthur. All-rounder Imad Wasim, who missed out in the ODI series due to knee injury, will not be able to recover in time for the series and therefore all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz will take his place in the squad. “Imad was yet to recover from his knee injury and was told to continue his rehabilitation at the NCA. Nawaz has been named to replace Imad. Sohaib Maqsood was not considered for selection due to back injury, and will undergo rehabilitation at the NCA,” said Inzamam. Pakistan are presently two games into a five-match ODI series, with New Zealand prevailing in both contests via the DLS method. The first of the three T20s will be played on January 22 at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, three days after the fifth ODI.

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Harris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Amir Yamin, Muhammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees, Umar Amin.

Published in Daily Times, January 11^th 2018.