Babar Azam return as Pakistan name strong squad for Australia ODIs

On Friday, May 22, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a 16-player squad for the three-match One-Day International series against Australia. Shaheen Afridi leads a side that has several high-profile names returning to the one-day setup. The list includes Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Sufyan Moqim, all of whom did not participate in the Bangladesh One-Day Internationals. However, Mohammad Rizwan has been left out because of his poor PSL campaign. The squad also contains three players uncapped in the ODI format: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas and Rohail Nazir, all of whom have already played T20Is. As per the PCB statement, Usman Khan was not considered for selection due to illness, with Muhammad Ghazi Ghori and Nazir being the two frontline keepers. Pakistan's squad will assemble in Islamabad on Friday for a training camp. Due to their prior injuries, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were also not considered for selection. They will continue their rehabilitation under the PCB medical panel. Australia are set to arrive in Pakistan in May 23, landing first in Islamabad. The first ODI will be played on May 30 in Rawalpindi, while the other two will be held in Lahore on June 2 and June 4. Pakistan and Australia last faced each other in a bilateral ODI series in late 2024, with Pakistan winning the series 2-1, their first in Australia in 22 years. Australia last toured Pakistan for an ODI series in 2022, which Pakistan also won 2-1.