PAK vs AUS | Former PAK captain curtailed from the white-ball squad against Aussies

On Tuesday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named the squad for the multi-format white-ball series against Australia that includes three ODIs and a  solitary T20I.

Expectedly, Babar Azam will be in charge of the squads in both the ODI and T20I series, and leg-spinner Shadab Khan will serve as his deputy.

The uncapped duo of Asif Afridi and Mohammad Haris has been included in both teams. While Asif has earned a maiden call-up for international cricket, Haris was a part of the home series against New Zealand, which unfortunately could not happen.

Mohammad Nawaz has featured in both squads. Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, and Imam-ul-Haq found a place only in the ODI squad.

Among the notable exclusions, the name of former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and all-rounder Imad Wasim popped up. The wicketkeeper-batter has been replaced by Haris, who reaped the rewards for his splendid show in the recently-concluded PSL season.

After including Asif and Haris, chief selector Mohammad Wasim emphasised their remarkable performance in the domestic circuit and termed it as the pivotal reason behind their selection.

"This is a reward for their hard work and consistent performances in the domestic circuit, Their selections are also a message for all domestic players that their performances are being followed and whenever an opportunity arises, they will be rewarded with a national team call-up," Wasim said in the press release of the PCB.

"Australia are an equally outstanding team in the shorter formats of the game and, as such, we have decided to go with the best available and most experienced players. The four white-ball matches have significant context as the 50-over games count towards the 2023 World Cup qualification and the 20-over will be a repeat of the ICC Men’s T20 WC 2021 semi-final," he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Australia are battling in a Test series, of which the final match remains. The two nations will then square off in a three-match ODI series, which will be followed by a T20I fixture.

ODI squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.

T20 squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.