Pakistan make squad changes in midst of Zimbabwe series

BULAWAYO: Two players on the Pakistan squad for the tour of Zimbabwe were injured and will soon be replaced for the final ODI and upcoming T20I series, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed on Wednesday.

Ahmed Daniyal and Shanawaz Dahani were both ruled out for the Zimbabwe tour due to a hamstring injury and an ankle injury respectively. Neither player had a chance to play in the ODI series yet. Twenty-seven-year-old fast bowler Daniyal was hoping to make his debut for Pakistan. The fast bowler has played 11 matches of First-Class cricket, in which he took 30 wickets.

Twenty-six-year old Shahnawaz Dahani was looking to get more experience under his belt, as the fast bowler has only played three ODIs and eleven T20Is for Pakistan, in which he has taken one and eight wickets respectively. Daniyal and Dahani played together in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup as the Pakistan Shaheens.

The two players will head to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore to undergo a rehab tournament. In their stead, Abbas Afridi and Jahandad Khan will play for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in the ODI series. The two were already included in the T20I squad. Jahandad may make his ODI debut in the last match of the series on Thursday. The twenty-one-year-old all-rounder has only played one T20I for Pakistan, in which he took one wicket, and made five runs. Abbas has more experience, having competed in thirteen T20I matches in which he took 22 wickets.

Ahmed Daniyal was also a part of the T20I squad, and will be replaced by Aamer Jamal, who has been playing against Zimbabwe in the ODI series. The Twenty-eight-year-old all-rounder has played in six T20Is to date, and scored 88 runs and taken two wickets across them.

The remainder of the squad remains the same. The first of three T20I matches is set for December 1.

Pakistan T20I squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan