LAHORE: Amid hype and speculations, seasoned batsman Younis Khan finally staged a comeback to ODI ranks after eight months while middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq was axed, as the national selectors announced a 16-member squad for the forthcoming ODI series against England in the UAE.

Chief selector Haroon Rasheed in Lahore announced the squad, which will continue to be led by Azhar Ali, soon after Pakistan won the three-match Test series in Sharjah on Thursday.

Younis’s inclusion for the four-match ODI series against England however was by no means a straightforward decision for the selectors amid recently emerging news reports that signalled the team management was in favour of taking in Asad for the limited-overs duty.

In fact, though the performances displayed by both Younis (302 runs, average 50.33) and Asad (326, 54.33) in the just-concluded England Test rubber were more or less equivalent, both have not been able to maintain their impressive Test show in ODIs lately.

While Asad — in and out of ODIs since 2014 — has not been able to craft a single half-century for more than a year in eight ODI innings (scoring 130 runs in these games at 18.75), Younis, not a regular member of ODI squad during the last couple of years, has also been found wanting in the shorter format (223 runs in 10 ODI innings, averaging 22.30, from December 2014 to March 2015).

However, the selectors while deciding to rely on the vast experience of 37-year-old Younis, opted to overlook 29-year-old Asad to strengthen the middle-order against England, who are expected to stage a comeback in the ODIs after losing the Test series.

Haroon in his official statement, however, has also indirectly cautioned Younis to cement his place in ODIs by cashing in on the opportunity, besides setting a challenge for the seasoned batsman to prove he could meet the cut-throat demands of modern-day ODIs.

“Keeping in view his current form [in Tests], Younis has been included in the [ODI] squad to land stability to the middle-order. Now it is up to Younis to prove that he could meet the demands of modern-day ODI cricket and play according to the team management’s game plan,” Haroon said.

Younis, a veteran of 264 ODIs with 7,240 runs (averaging 31.34) under his belt, has been a great campaigner, but the right-hander has struggled in ODIs.

At the 2015 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, Younis failed to make an impression in the three matches he played as the team banked on his experience.

The selectors had sidelined Younis from ODI cricket after the mega event, while retained him in Test cricket.

But Younis was somehow not satisfied with the development and while some critics kept supporting him for his return to ODI squad, the selectors have finally decided to again give the veteran a chance to prove his mettle in 50-over contest.

Haroon, who specially went to Sharjah to have a detailed discussion over the case of Younis and Asad, finally it seems convinced the team management over Younis.

Haroon added: “Zafar Gohar has been included in place of injured Imad Wasim, who is expected to be fit before the T20 series.”

Upcoming all-rounder Imad got injured during a recent Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match and still needs time to recover.

Left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz, who missed out the last series against Sri Lanka due to injury issues, and all-rounder Aamir Yamin, who is yet to start his duty in international arena are also included in the squad.

Besides Asad, opener Mukhtar Ahmed and pacer Ehsan Adil were also dropped, clearing the way for Wahab and Aamir Yamin.

The first two ODIs will be played in Abu Dhabi on Nov 11 and 13, third in Sharjah on Nov 13 and last in Dubai on Nov 20.

Squad:

Azhar Ali (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Amir Yamin, Yasir Shah, Zafar Gohar, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, Bilal Asif.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play