LAHORE: Giant pacer Mohammad Irfan staged comeback to international cricket after a three-month lay off due to fitness problem while off-spinning all-rounder Bilal Asif’s consistent show in domestic cricket paid off when the the national selection committee named them in a 16-member squad for the five match One-day International series against Sri Lanka here on Friday.

The selectors once again kept faith with veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik while Pakistan’s most seasoned batsman Younis Khan failed to find a place in the team. Injured pacer Wahab Riaz and middle-order batsmen Haris Sohail and Sohaib Maqsood could not clear the medical tests and were dropped. Wahab, however, has a fair chance to become fit before the last two ODIs of the series and could be called in if required.

The series commences from July 11 while the remaining four ODIs will be played on July 15, 19, 22 and 26.

The selectors also axed pacers Mohammad Sami and Junaid Khan and inexperienced all-rounder Hammad Azam who played the last three ODIs at home against Zimbabwe in May this year but had failed to impress.

“PCB chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan has approved Pakistan’s ODI squad for the forthcoming five-match series against Sri Lanka after the recommendation of the four-member selection committee headed by Haroon Rasheed,” a PCB press release states.

“In naming the ODI squad, the selection committee had also consulted the Pakistan team management including head coach Waqar Younis and skipper Azhar Ali,” it further states.

Mohammad Hafeez, who is set to appear for yet another biomechanics test after being reported for a second time in Sri Lanka for his suspect bowling action, is also included in the team, with the hope that he will clear the test to be conducted in Chennai on July 6. But if he fails then most probably Bilal will make his international debut to fill the place as an off-spinning all-rounder.

Injury-prone Irfan has now fully recovered from his injury that he suffered during the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia early this year. He had also missed the entire series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Announcing the squad, chief selector Haroon said: “Wahab , Haris and Sohaib were not available for selection due to injuries. While Haris and Sohaib have been ruled out of the ODI series, the rehab process of Wahab is being monitored and our medical panel is expected to rescan his injured left hand around the middle of this month to find out the recovery process.

“It is hoped that he recovers well in time to be available for the last two ODIs and if he is declared fit by the medical panel, selection committee might consider sending him over to SL depending on the situation of the series after consulting the team management.

“Young Mukhtar Ahmed has shown tremendous improvement during this period and performed well at the international level in the T20 format. Selection committee feels that it is the right time to assess his potential in the one-day format by giving him an opportunity.

“Bilal has also shown that he is a powerful hitter in the lower order and also a handy off-spinner and could fill the gap in case Hafeez’s action is not cleared after his retesting in Chennai.”

The squad features quite a few young guns including Baber Azam, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Rizwan and in reference to that, Haroon said: “Team Pakistan has a packed schedule from here onwards and the selectors feel that new faces have to be inducted to assess their credentials at the international level.”

Squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (vice-captain), Yasir Shah, Bilal Asif, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Ehsan Adil, Rahat Ali.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2015

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