Pakistan Unveils Six Uncapped Players for Upcoming Tours of Australia and Zimbabwe

Pakistan has named a 15-player squad for their upcoming ODI tours of Australia and Zimbabwe, featuring six uncapped players: Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Saim Ayub. Both tours will consist of three ODIs, followed by a three-match T20I series in each country.

The tour of Australia kicks off on November 4, followed by the Zimbabwe series starting November 24. Notably, Mohammad Rizwan has been rested for the T20I series despite being included in both the Australia and Zimbabwe ODI squads.

With Babar Azam stepping down from his captaincy role recently, Pakistan currently lacks a designated captain for ODIs and T20Is, with an official announcement expected later today. Although Azam is part of the squad for the Australia tour, he will not participate in the Zimbabwe ODIs.

Pacer Mohammad Hasnain, who last played an ODI in January 2023, has been recalled after an impressive performance in the Champions One-Day Cup, where he took 17 wickets. He will play in the ODI squad for Australia and is included in both white-ball squads for Zimbabwe.

In terms of squad composition, apart from Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, and Shaheen Afridi, only Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, and Muhammad Irfan Khan have been selected for both the ODI and T20I teams.

Changes for the T20I series in Australia include replacing players such as Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, and Kamran Ghulam with Arafat Minhas, Jahandad Khan, and others.

Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Rauf, Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Afridi are scheduled to depart for Melbourne on October 28, with the remaining ODI players following on October 29. Gary Kirsten, Pakistan's white-ball coach, will join the squad in Melbourne on the same day.