Faheem Ashraf earns call-up after two years, Shan Masood dropped by Pakistan for Asia Cup and Afghanistan series
In the first assignment of his second stint as Pakistan's national selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq made the big call of ommitting Shan Masood from the squad, as announced on Tuesday. The change-up also saw Faheem Ashraf return to ODI setup while Saud Shakeel was included in the squad to face Afghanistan.
Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the squads that would travel to Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan from 22-26 August followed by the Asia Cup 2023, beginning August 30. The 18-member contingent would have a new vice-captain in the form of Shadab Khan and would see Saud Shakeel return ahead of the continental tournament as the side enters its final phase of preparation for the ICC World Cup in India in October-November. Shan Masood was the biggest name to be dropped from the scheme of things by the new chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, while Faheem Ashraf made a surprise return having last played an ODI in 2021.
Masood, who was named vice-captain of the ODI side earlier in the year, only managed 52 runs in four innings in 2023 that saw his career average plunge down to 18.11. He was only one of three players to be ommitted from the team that played New Zealand in five ODIs in March-April, alongside middle-order batter Haris Sohail and right-arm quick Ihsanullah. These decisions paved the way for Saud Shakeel to potentially add to his five ODI caps following a headline-making double century against Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Test series.
"Shan has performed very well on the whole across formats. Unfortunately, his performances in ODIs have gone down. We have a list of 20-21 players, and Shan is part of that. But Saud Shakeel and a couple of other players were impressive recently, so we have to leave out Shan. But he is a part of our plans," Inzamam was quoted saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
Youngster Tayyab Tahir retained his place in the squad after impressing in the recent ACC Emerging Asia Cup. Faheem Ashraf, meanwhile, has been given a second lease at an ODI career as well despite not being a part of the converstaion for the past two years. The fast-bowling all-rounder remained a regular fixtures in T20Is and is expected to add another dimension to Pakistan's team. Incidentally, Ashraf had made his ODI debut in 2017 during Inzamam's first stint as chief selector.
"Preference has been given to Faheem Ashraf, since the squad doesn't have another allrounder. If you look at PSL and other tournaments, he was in good form. And we need an allrounder, he is a fast-bowling allrounder, which we need at the World Cup," Inzamam said of the 29-year-old.
The squad would be involved in a training camp in Lahore from Agusut 14 to 16 before leaving for Sri Lanka on August 18. The players woulb ke keen to perform in the upcoming assignments, given Pakistan have only until September 5 to name a 15-man squad for the marquee event in India.
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