All-rounder Mohammed Hafeez has made a return to Pakistan's limited overs squad. He is being named in the country's upcoming ODI and T2O International series in Zimbabwe by the national selection committee. It was a great news for Pakistan, when Hafeez's bowling action got cleared last month after being reported illegal and it has paved the way for his immediate comeback in the reckoning. The bowling Hafeez has always been more useful for Pakistan than the batting one.
Hafeez was reported for his action in September last year and after many corrective measures and immense work on his action, was cleared this May by the ICC.
Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Chief Selector was quoted saying about Hafeez's comeback as, "Hafeez warranted a place after clearing his action", Uncapped opener Sahibzada Farhan was also selected for the T20 squad "after showing good form in domestic matches,"
"Asif Ali was included in the ODI squad to strengthen the lower middle order while Junaid Khan and Yasir Shah make a comeback in the ODI squad after getting fit from the injury,"
Pakistan's best-limited overs batsman and the brightest young talent in the country, Babar Azam was not considered for the T20Is, as he continues to recover from a blow to his hands at Lord's earlier this month but is expected to return for the ODIs.
The tour starts with Pakistan taking on the hosts Zimbabwe and Australia in a T20I triangular series from 1st July with the final taking place on 8th July.
The tour then shifts to the ODI series against Zimbabwe starting from July 13.
Squad (Twenty20): Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan Shinwari, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan
Squad (ODI): Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam (subject to fitness), Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan Shinwari, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail.
(Inputs from Firstpost)
