Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test batsman Mohammad Wasim, on Friday recalled opening batsman Sharjeel Khan and veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez to a 35-member squad named for twin tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Hafeez has returned after missing the home series against South Africa while Sharjeel is making a comeback to the national side after four years. Pakistan white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan has also returned to the side after missing the South Africa series.

Pakistan are slated to play three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa and three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe. The seven T20Is and two Tests will count towards the ICC T20I and Test Rankings, while the three ODIs against South Africa will be part of the ICC Men’s World Cup Super League –– a 13-team competition from which the top seven sides will qualify automatically for the ICC World Cup 2023. Pakistan will depart for Johannesburg on March 26 for the series limited overs series. After that, they will fly to Bulawayo on April 17. The team will return on May 12. Prior to their departure for Johannesburg, a training camp for the white-ball players will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium from March 19. The players will arrive in Lahore on March 18 following March 16 PCR tests in their respective cities and will undergo further PCR tests on March 18, 21 and 24. During the Lahore camp, the players will remain in a bio-secure environment. The T20I and ODI sides include 18 players each with 14 players featuring in both the formats, while the Test squad comprises 20 players with eight players figuring across all three formats.

The left-handed Sharjeel was out of international cricket after serving a 28-month ban for his involvement in a Pakistan Super League spot-fixing scandal in 2017. He has earned his way back into the national team after scoring a century in this year’s PSL and was also the third-highest scorer in the league, which was suspended due to coronavirus last week, finishing only behind Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. He had a fantastic strike rate of 170.94, well ahead of what the other two recorded. However, there were question marks on Sharjeel’s fitness, but chief selector Wasim said it was not the only criteria while selecting a player for international matches. “At the end of the day, a player has to play cricket,’’ he said during a press conference on Friday. “Sharjeel Khan has staged a comeback in the T20I squad. Although he is exactly not where we want him to be, he is not too far away. With the form he has recently shown in the domestic T20 events, he deserves an opportunity to further improve his fitness and show he still has that ability to win big matches for Pakistan,” he added.

Yasir Shah has been ruled out of the Test series in Zimbabwe with a left-knee injury while spinners Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood and Nauman Ali are part of the extended 20-player Test squad. Uncapped 19-year-old fast bowler Shahnawaz Dhani is a surprise inclusion in the Test squad after impressing in the PSL VI. Dhani took nine wickets in four PSL matches –– the second-most among all bowlers, and while an economy rate of 10.33 needs work, that was enough for Wasim to suggest he could be a white-ball prospect. “We are lacking fast bowlers in red ball cricket and we believe Dhani is our future in Test cricket. We will surely also consider him for white-ball cricket in future too.”

Squads:

Test squad: Babar Azam (c), Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Tabish Khan, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dhani, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan.

ODI squad: Babar Azam (c), Imamul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali.

T20I squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal.

Tour itinerary

March 26 ––– Departure for Johannesburg

April 2 ––– 1st ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

April 4 ––– 2nd ODI; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

April 7 ––– 3rd ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

April 10 –––1st T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

April 12 ––– 2nd T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

April 14 ––– 3rd T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

April 16 ––– 4th T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

April 17 ––– Departure for Bulawayo

Zimbabwe schedule to be announced in due course

May 12 ––– Departure for Lahore from Bulawayo