Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Opener Sahibzada Farhan will make his debut against Australia in the final of the T20I triangular series in Zimbabwe. Speaking in an interview after the Pakistan team’s training session on Saturday, skipper Sarfraz Ahmed said that the 22-year-old would replace Haris Sohail at the top of the order for the final against Australia. Fast bowler Hasan Ali has also been included in the 12-man squad while the rest of the side will be the same one which played against Australia in the final match of the round-robin stage of the event. “Farhan will make his debut while Hasan Ali is also part of the 12-man squad with the rest of the side unchanged,” he said. “The final eleven will be decided on the morning of the match after assessing the conditions.”

Farhan -who represented Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) – played an important role in guiding Misbahul Haq-led unit to their second title earlier this year. The weather conditions in Harare have been cooler than what the Men in Green experienced back home, but despite that, Sarfraz was satisfied with the team’s preparations. “The weather is cold but it did not hamper our preparations for tomorrow’s final to a major extent,” he said. “Hopefully the team will perform well against Australia.” Pakistan and Australia, each, won three out of their four matches during the first stage of the tournament, with both sides sharing the spoils in matches which they played against each other. Both teams also registered comprehensive wins over hosts Zimbabwe to knock them out of the race for the title.

Published in Daily Times, July 8^th 2018.