LAHORE, Oct 19: Opener Mohammad Hafeez, middle-order batsman Umar Akmal and medium-fast bowler Wahab Riaz have been recalled into the Pakistan ODI squad which will take on South Africa in the five-match ODI series from Oct 30 to Nov 11 in the UAE.

Eight specialists of the shorter version of the game who will join the national team include openers Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed, middle-order batsmen Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood, all-rounders Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir, medium-fast bowler Wahab Riaz and wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

The UAE-bound players will attend a training camp at the National Cricket Academy commencing here from Monday.

Those returning at the end of the Test series include successful openers Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood who provided a strong opening stand of 135 in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa which Pakistan won by seven wickets.

The other players returning from the UAE at the end of the Test series will be Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Adnan Akmal, Zulfiqar Babar and medium-fast bowler Rahat Ali. The first ODI will played in Sharjah on Oct 30 while the second will be staged on Nov 1 in Dubai, the third and fourth on Nov 6 and 8 respectively in Abu Dhabi and the fifth again in Sharjah on Nov 11.

All-rounder Hafeez was left out of the Tests due to his poor form in South Africa and in Zimbabwe early this year. The 32-year-old opener failed in the two-match Test series in Zimbabwe scoring just 59.

Nonetheless, he fared considerably better in the one-day matches, scoring a hundred and winning man of the series award which has prompted the selectors to include him in the ODI series against the Proteas.

Umar Akmal, having missed the last tour of Zimbabwe because of his controversial fitness problem, finally stages a comeback in the ODI series to resume his international career.

Wahab too was not part of the Zimbabwe-bound team but has now been selected for the ODI series along with Sohail Tanvir who has been recalled for the ODI series after a long time.

Sohail, who has been confined to T20 cricket of late, last played an ODI in August 2012 against Australia in the UAE where he remained wicketless after conceding 59 runs.

ODI Squad:Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Sohaib Maqsood, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper).

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