Hasnain, Zafar, Abdullah in squad for third ODI against Zimbabwe

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan have made three changes in the 15-member squad for the third and final One-day International against Zimbabwe as pacer Mohammad Hasnain, Zafar Gohar and Abdullah Shafiq have been inducted in the squad.

The trio have replaced pacer Haris Rauf, left-arm spinner Imad Wasim and opening batsman Abid Ali.

Pakistan have already won the first two matches to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Sources said that Mohammad Hasnain, who has played five ODIs, and Zafar Gohar who made his ODI debut in 2015 against England, are likely to be given a chance in the final playing eleven. However, Abdullah, Khushdil Shah and Usman Qadir are also under consideration but the final decisions about their fate will be made on Tuesday morning after looking at the pitch condition.

Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq announced the 15-member squad. In his video message to media on Monday, Misbah said that the team’s performance in the first two ODIs was very good. “The batting approach was very good. We finished with good strike rate as our players played positive cricket,” he said and added that bowlers also did very well. He said that fast bowler Musa Khan bowled impressively on his debut while Haider Ali also played well.

The head coach said that every match is important for greenshirts as all matches carry points for direct qualification into the World Cup. He said that last ODI is also equally important for Pakistan.

“After the ODIs, Pakistan will play three T20 Internationals against Zimbabwe which are also very important ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup,” said Misbah.

Squad for third ODI: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Zafar Gohar, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Musa Khan.