LAHORE: Wicket-keeper/batter Mohammad Haris was named on Monday captain of Pakistan Shaheens by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the upcoming white-ball matches for the Australia tour.

“Mohammad Haris has been appointed as Pakistan Shaheen’s white-ball captain for the two 50-over matches and nine-team Top End T20 series to be played from Aug 4-18 in Darwin, Australia,” the media statement issued by the PCB said.

“Haris last captained Pakistan Shaheens in the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo. In the final, Pakistan Shaheens defeated India by 128 runs to successfully defend the title.”

Right-handed Haris made his ODI debut in 2022 playing against West Indies in Multan. So far he has played six ODIs, failing to produce any worthwhile performance. He scored just 30 runs at a scanty average of 7.50. In nine T20I he could score 126 at 14.00.

The Shaheens are already in Darwin for two four-day matches against Bangladesh ‘A’ from scheduled to be held from July 19-22 and 26-29. Shaheens’ 50-over matches will be against Northern Territory and Bangladesh ‘A’ on Aug 4 and 6, respectively before the T20 series commences on Aug 9.

Other participating teams in the T20 series are ACT Comets, Bangladesh ‘A’, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Northern Territory Strike, Adelaide Strikers and Tasmania.

For the white-ball matches, seven changes have been made to the red-ball side. Abdul Faseeh, Arafat Minhas, Arif Yaqoob, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Imran Jr and Usman Khan will replace Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Ali, Mubasir Khan, Tayyab Tahir and Umar Amin.

White-ball squad: Mohammad Haris (captain), Abdul Faseeh, Arafat Minhas, Arif Yaqoob, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah (wicketkeeper/batter), Mohammad Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Kashif Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Imran Jr, Omair bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Khan

Player support personnel: Abdul Rehman (head coach), Mohammad Masroor (assistant coach-cum-manager), Mohammad Asad (physio), Imranullah (trainer), Usman Hashmi (analyst)

Tour schedule:

Aug 4: 50-over match vs Northern Territory

Aug 6: 50-over match vs Bangladesh ‘A’

Top End T20 Series:

Aug 10: vs Perth Scorchers

Aug 11: vs Melbourne Stars

Aug 13: vs Tasmania

Aug 15: vs Melbourne Renegades

Aug 16: vs Bangladesh ‘A’

Aug 17: vs ACT Comets

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2024