SHARJAH: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced pace-bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf will take no further part in the ongoing One-day International series against Australia following Sunday’s second match and will return home on Monday.

The decision has been taken by the national selection committee in consultation with the team management, and is consistent to their policy of giving sufficient rest to Pakistan’s frontline players ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be played in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14.

Faheem, who scored 28 and took 1-50 in the series opener here on Friday, has played a Test, seven ODIs and eight T20I since September 2018.

It has also been decided no replacement will be sought for Faheem as the squad already includes five pace bowlers in Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain and Usman Khan Shinwari.

The remaining three ODIs of the series will be played in Abu Dhabi (Wednesday) and Dubai (Friday and Sunday).

In the lead up to their World Cup opener against the West Indies on May 31 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, Pakistan have play face England in a series of five ODIs and a Twenty20 International. In the build-up to that series against England, Pakistan will also play three warm-up matches against Kent (April 27), Northamp­tonshire (April 29) and Leicestershire (May 1), while two World Cup warm-up matches against Afghanistan (on May 24 in Bristol) and Bangladesh (May 26 in Cardiff) have also been scheduled.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2019