LAHORE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed the squads for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, which will be played in the United Kingdom from June 1-18.

While a number of players will be returning to this short and sharp tournament, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik stands out as he has been selected for his sixth successive tournament, said the information made available here on Wednesday by the ICC.

Only eight other players have played in six ICC Champions Trophy tournaments. They are: Ricky Ponting (Australia), Rahul Dravid (India), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis (both South Africa) and Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara (all Sri Lanka).

Shoaib made his tournament debut in the Colombo event in 2002 and then went on to play in the 2004 and 2013 events in the United Kingdom, the 2006 event in India and the 2009 tournament in South Africa.

The 35-year-old has scored 326 runs and taken 10 wickets in 15 Champions Trophy appearances. Since he has played in 247 ODIs, he will be aiming to become the 42nd player overall to play in 250 or more ODIs when he takes the field in the third match against Sri Lanka in Cardiff on June 12.

“I am happy to be part of the Pakistan squad in a quality event like the ICC Champions Trophy,” Shoaib said. “If I look at the company of players who have played in the six events to date, I feel humbled and honoured as these gentlemen are some of the finest our sport has ever seen.

“The Champions Trophy is one of the most important events for Pakistan in recent times for a number of reasons. As the ODI squad, we need to re-establish ourselves as one of the top ODI sides by putting up strong performances against all teams.

“This will help our global ranking and help us to qualify for the ICC World Cup 2019. Strong performances are also important to boost the morale of our team and millions of well-wishers back home and around the world.

“In this perspective, I think I personally have a bigger role to play in the tournament than just performing with the bat and the ball. I need to help the younger guys to overcome their nerves and showcase the talent they possess to themselves and the world that’ll be watching.” While it will be Shoaib’s sixth appearance, India’s Yuvraj Singh will be returning to this competition after 11 years.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is one of the nine Pakistan players who will be making their ICC Champions Trophy debuts. While Shoaib will feature in his sixth event, Mohammad Hafeez will play in his third tournament. The other survivors from the 2013 event are Junaid Khan, Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz, while Mohammad Amir played in the 2009 edition. Pakistan is currently eighth in the ICC ODI team rankings.

Teams can make changes to their squads without needing an ICC approval until 24 May. All player replacement requests from 25 May onwards will require the approval of the event technical committee.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2017