Asad Shafiq, a member of the Pakistan selection committee, opened up about the opening pair for the upcoming tri-nation ODI series involving New Zealand and South Africa, as well as the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Earlier today, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed the 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI events, however, Fakhar Zaman was the only specialized opening batter in the line-up.
It’s worth noting that Saim and Abdullah Shafique opened the innings for Pakistan in the ODI series against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
However, Saim was ruled out of the tri-nation ODI series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to an ankle injury sustained during the tour of South Africa, while Abdullah was dropped due to his below-par form.
Asad Shafiq has revealed that either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel will be promoted to form the opening pair for Pakistan with Fakhar during the upcoming events.
“Fakhar’s opening partner could be either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, depending on various factors such as conditions, opposition and match strategy,” Asad stated in the PCB press release.
“Both players are highly capable at the top of the order, with Babar being particularly seasoned in the role, regularly opening in T20Is and also excelling in the Cape Town Test by scoring two half-centuries in Saim Ayub’s absence.”
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)(c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Saud Shakeel, Naseem Shah, Tayyab Tahir, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Hasnain, Usman Khan, Haris Rauf.
Player support personnel: Naveed Akram Cheema (team manager), Hina Munawar (team operations manager), Aqib Javed (interim head coach), Azhar Mahmood (assistant coach), Shahid Aslam (batting coach), Mohammad Masroor (fielding coach), Abdul Rehman (spin bowling coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Drikus Saiman (strength and conditioning coach), Talha Butt (analyst), Irtiza Komail (security manager), Dr Wajid Ali Rafai (team doctor), Syed Naeem Ahmad (media and digital manager) and Sergio Basil Mullins (masseur).
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