Rawalpindi, Oct 29 (IANS) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced the 15-man squad for first of the three ODIs against Zimbabwe to be played on Friday at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
Babar Azam will lead the side while Mohammad Rizwan will perform the wicketkeeping duties. Newly appointed vice-captain Shadab Khan will miss the match as the medical team of the PCB Wednesday had ruled him unavailable for selection.
Shadab suffered a leg injury in the intra-squad warm-up match in Lahore. He will be monitored over the week and is expected to be available for the remainder of the series.
The entire series, comprising three ODIs and three T20Is, will be played in Rawalpindi, which will host an ODI for the first time since 2006.
Zimbabwe last played an ODI in Pakistan in 2015. However, the two teams played a full-fledged five-match ODI series in Zimbabwe in 2018.
Zimbabwe too have a new skipper in all-rounder Chamu Chibhabha. The team will want to improve their record against Pakistan. Pakistan have won 52 out of the 59 ODIs played between the two teams.
Pakistan squad: Imam ul Haq, Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (captain), Haris Sohail, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Musa Khan.
–IANS
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