Pakistan have rested six players, including regular captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, for the ODIs against Australia in the UAE, and Shoaib Malik will lead the side. The decision to rest several players, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said, was taken largely to ensure they got adequate rest before the World Cup. As many as four players were recalled, including Umar Akmal and Junaid Khan. The 16-man squad also included uncapped players Saad Ali, Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Hasnain.
The five players rested apart from Sarfaraz were Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali. Hussain Talat was the only player dropped from the ODI squad that had toured South Africa earlier this year. Mohammad Hafeez missed out as he is still recovering from a thumb surgery.
The five-match ODI series will start on March 22 in Sharjah and will end on March 31 in Dubai.
ODI squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saad Ali, Shan Masood, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari, Yasir Shah
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