Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) selectors announced the ODI squad for the upcoming five-match series against Sri Lanka on Friday.
They have named 16 players in the squad and Mohammad Irfan has been recalled. Irfan, who bruised his hip during the ICC World Cup 2015 in Australia, missed the crucial quarter final game against Australia. Azhar Ali will continue to captain the ODI side.
The visitors will have to play the ODI series without the services of Wahab Riaz and Harris Sohail. Both of them have been injured recently during their tour of Sri Lanka forcing them out of the rest of the series.
"It is hoped that he recovers well in time to be available for the last two ODIs, and if he is declared fit by the medical panel, the selection committee might consider sending him over depending on the situation of the series after consulting the team management," Pakistan's chief selector Haroon Rasheed said about Wahab Riaz to the reporters on Friday.
Mukhtar Ahmed and Bilal Asif are two new players who have been included in the 16-member squad for the first time. "Mukhtar has shown tremendous improvement while Asif has also shown that he is a powerful hitter and also a handy off-spinner," Rasheed added.
Umar Akmal and Junaid Khan will also miss the ODI series because of their recent run of form. Junaid played the first two Tests against Sri Lanka but he was benched for the third Test and Rahat Ali made it into the playing XI in Pallekele. Mohammad Hafeez has also been named for the squad, but he missed the third Test as he will be appearing for his Test in Chennai.
Here's the Pakistan squad for the ODI series:
Azhar Ali (C), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed , Yasir Shah, Bilal Asif, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Ehsan Adil, Rahat Ali.
