Pakistan's T20 International series against Australia was not the kind of start that new T20 captain, Babar Azam, was looking for; however we at least witnessed Babar take charge and impose his authority with the bat in 2 of the 3 T20 games.

Suffice to say that captaincy burdens will not hamper Babar's batting ability.

Despite Pakistan suffering a 2-0 loss, there has been plenty of excitement building up among the Pakistan fans for the upcoming Test Series.

Particularly due to the video clips of Naseem Shah's bowling circulating on social media.



This boy is going to be a sensation.

Even though it was Imran Khan whose 5 wickets destroyed Australia A in the 3-day match, every Pakistani was focused solely on Naseem Shah's 8 overs, his speed, and his 1 wicket.

There is something about a free flowing express pace bowler who keeps the batsmen jumping.

Naseem Shah is the real deal and every Pakistani is hoping he is the one who will continue the legacy of Pakistan's pace bowling.

But will Misbah and Azhar Ali play him in the first test that starts in 3 days?

Here's a look at some selection decisions that Pakistan will face for the first test against Australia.

THE BOWLING
Mohammad Abbas and Yasir Shah are sure starters in the 4-man bowling attack that Pakistan will field in the first test against Australia at Brisbane.

That leaves two spots and a choice between Shaheen Afridi, Imran Khan, Naseem Shah, and Muhammad Musa.

Musa impressed in the 2-day game against Cricket Australia XI with figures of 2-32 in his 14 overs. He generated quite a but of pace too, consistently bowling in the 140s.

Shaheen has been on a comeback trail and had a good outing against Australia A, picking up 2-42 in 16 overs in the first innings and 1-22 in 9 overs in the second.

Imran Khan was the star of the first practice game with sterling figures of 5-32.

But the talk of the town has been Naseem Shah!

So who gets to play come Thursday?

It will be a tough choice for the Pakistan team management. I think Imran Khan and Shaheen Afridi would be the wise choice, but I really want to see Naseem Shah in the XI.

While Pakistan's bowling does look exciting, its ability to pick 20 Australian wickets is debatable.

THE BATTING
In fact, I believe that Pakistan's batting will shine in the upcoming test series and it will be the bowlers who will struggle against the Aussie batting.

Babar Azam has been in wonderful touch. He kicked off the T20s with two 50s and then followed that up with an unbeaten 150 odd against Australia A. He dominated an international level bowling attack and played some stunning strokes in that innings, leaving everyone in awe of his talent and form.



Iftikhar Ahmed has also been in great form since his comeback to the side in the home series against Sri Lanka. In Australia, he played a brutal unbeaten knock of 62 of only 30 odd deliveries in the last T20, and in the 3-day match against Australia A, he again played an unbeaten knock of 79. Bowlers have found it extremely difficult to dismiss him, and all his unbeaten knocks have catapulted his average in T20 Internationals to a whopping 75!



Asad Shafiq, the mainstay of Pakistan's Test batting line up for the past many years, has warmed up for the test series with centuries in each of the practice matches. He scored an unbeaten 119 against Australia A, where he was involved in an unbroken partnership of 276 with Babar Azam. He followed that up with another unbeaten knock of 101 against Cricket Australia XI, where again he put on a century partnership with Babar.

The openers Shan Masood and Imam Ul Haq have also warmed up well. Shan managed scores of 65 and 76 in the two matches, while Imam played a solitary innings of 44.

The only batsmen not to find any form were Pakistan's new Test Captain, Azhar Ali, and Haris Sohail. Azhar scored 11 and 1 in the two innings against Australia A and then sat out the match against CA XI. While Haris has scores of 18, 2, and 4 in the three innings he played in these practice games. Haris also had a very disappointing T20 series.

THE PLAYING XI
Even though Haris Sohail scored a 147 in the last test series he played for Pakistan, I feel his struggle in Australia is real and he should sit out the first test. Moreso because Iftikhar Ahmed has been in red hot form and deserves to add to his solitary test cap.

The other 5 batsmen pick themselves.

The bowling, as mentioned above is the tricky part, however I am sold on the excitement generated by Naseem Shah, and I feel Pakistan should play two bowlers who bowl in the 140s, rather than two who bowl in the 130s.

I am not convinced with Mohammad Rizwan's ability to shine in international cricket, but there is no choice really. Abid Ali, while a far superior batsman, is not an international level wicket keeper. One needs a specialist for Test matches.

Here's my XI for the first test: 1. Shan Masood 2. Imam Ul Haq 3. Azhar Ali 4. Babar Azam 5. Iftikhar Ahmed 6. Asad Shafiq 7. Mohammad Rizwan 8. Yasir Shah 9. Shaheen Afridi 10. Mohammad Abbas 11. Naseem Shah

Can't wait for this Test Series to start already!

With the test retirements of Mohammad Aamer and Wahab Riaz, Pakistan's selectors had to look into the trenches to find able replacements for the upcoming Test tour to Australia.

The Chief Selector, Misbah Ul Haq, surprised everyone when he named young pacers, Naseem Shah and Muhammad Musa, and the domestic spin stalwart, Kashif Bhatti in Pakistan's Test squad.

Niether of them have played international cricket yet.


Also returning to the fold was Imran Khan Snr, who has appeared in 9 tests for Pakistan but last appeared for them three years ago!

These 4 join the experienced Yasir Shah, and somewhat experienced Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Afridi, in a 7 man attack that is part of Pakistan's Test squad for the two tests against Australia.

These 7 have played 61 tests collectively. Nathan Lyon alone has played 91!

Talk about inexperience, that too for a place like Australia.

We all are aware of what Yasir, Abbas, and Shaheen are capable of. Here is a look at what made the selectors include the other 4 in the squad.

KASHIF BHATTI
He is 33 and has been around the domestic scene for 12 years now.

A left arm finger spinner, Kashif has a very impressive domestic record, having picked up 327 wickets in 83 first class matches at an average of 22.8 and economy of 2.6. He is quite handy with the bat too averaging 24.2 in these 83 FC matches with 10 fifties and 2 hundreds.

Kashif has represented Hyderabad in the domestic circuit and in the newly revamped domestic circuit he is part of the Sindh team.

In the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Kashif has played 3 matches in which he has picked up 10 wickets at an average of 27.4 and economy of 2.04!

He not only has wicket taking ability but can also stop the flow of runs, which as we know is what Misbah likes for choking the opposition in Test cricket.

In recent times, Pakistan's spinners have started their International careers in the 30s, including legends like Saeed Ajmal and Yasir Shah. It is the same for Kashif who has finally got his chance; he would be looking forward to getting an opportunity in Australia.

NASEEM SHAH
He is the most exciting name in Pakistan's line up in my view. Naseem is only 16 and he is extremely fast!

He made his first class debut only a year ago and has played a mere 5 first class games. However the impression he has made in those games is good enough to give him a crack at International cricket in a place where the wickets are the fastest in the world.

In 5 FC matches, Naseem has picked up 17 wickets at an average of 18.7 and economy of 2.9.

In the ongiong Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, he is representing Central Punjab and he is the second highest wicket taker among pacers with 9 wickets at an average of 26.2.

Naseem is a very exciting prospect and he would relish the opportunity to have a go at the Australian batsmen in Brisbane and Adelaide.

For those wondering who Naseem Shah is #AUSvPAK #Cricket pic.twitter.com/wLzeUzkBav

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) October 21, 2019

MUHAMMAD MUSA
He is another young tearaway at 19 years old and we all saw him turn out for Islamabad United in the PSL earlier this year.

But why he is in Pakistan's test squad, I am not too sure.

For his 17 wickets, he averages 37.5 in 7 First Class matches and in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, his 5 wickets have cost him 68.4 per wicket.

I understand he is an exciting prospect and probably has a bright future ahead of him, but there are so many other pacers in the domestic circuit, who are currently doing so much better in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, who could have been considered for the Australia tour.

Just to name a few, the likes of Sameen Gul, Haris Rauf, Tabish Khan and Ehsan Adil have been quite impressive in the QeT, and definitely far better than Musa has been.

IMRAN KHAN (Snr)
I also do not understand what has resulted in a recall for Imran Khan. He has not had a good QeT with 5 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 54.8. He has not done much in the 3 years that he has been out of Pakistan's Test side. Nor does his Test average of over 30 make it seem like he was dropped unfairly.

Then why is he back when there are so many more talented pacers in Pakistan?

While Naseem and Kashif are inspired selections and both represent players with immense potential who can deliver for Pakistan; Musa and Imran Khan selections do not make much sense.

I am most excited about Naseem Shah and hope he gets a chance to play at least one of the test matches down under.

We have already discussed the unfortunate decision to replace Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain of the T20 team. A team that he had taken to the top of the ICC T20 Rankings.

Before Sarfaraz was replaced, he had to contend with the inclusion of Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal in his T20 squad for the series against Sri Lanka.

Instead of blooding fresh faces at home in conditions known to local players, Misbah Ul Haq's selection committee decided to bring in tried, tested, and failed players.

Who failed once again.

As a result, Pakistan lost the series 3-0 and Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked!

Pakistan's two senior most cricketers - Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez - were unavailable (with the PCB's permission) for the T20 series due to their CPL commitments.

So fine you needed to replace them but why bring in Shehzad and Umar when other promising prospects are available?

What is even more disturbing is that for a tough tour to Australia, Misbah's selection committee has not only decided to change the captain of the T20 team, they have chosen to ignore Malik and Hafeez, and have selected uncapped and untried batsmen like Khushdil Shah and Imam Ul Haq respectively.

With all due respect to Imam Ul Haq, who I believe is one of Pakistan's best batsmen in Tests and ODIs, I really do not think that his game is suited to T20 cricket.

Khushdil Shah is also a promising middle order batsman with a penchant for power hitting, but he really should have been tried at home against Sri Lanka. The selectors are not doing him any favors by sending him to Australia for a first taste of international cricket.

But what have Malik and Hafeez done wrong?


Since The World T20 in 2016, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have been Pakistan's leading batsmen in T20s, after the newly elected captain Babar Azam.

Malik is in fact the second highest run scorer, behind Babar, during this period.

Hafeez is the only other batsman from Pakistan, besides Babar and Malik, to average in the 40s.

Their performances with the bat, and the ball, and in the field, have contributed immensely towards Pakistan's number 1 ranking in the world.

Not only for Pakistan, but both Malik and Hafeez have been among the best in the world in T20s over the past 3 years.


Malik is among the top 10 run scorers in the world in T20 Internationals in the past 3 years.

His average is the third best among these batsmen, behind Babar and Maxwell. His strike rate is also the third best among these batsmen, behind Maxwell and Munro.

Besides Maxwell and Malik, there are no other batsmen in the world who average above 40 and have a strike rate above 150 in T20 Internationals in the past 3 years.

Mohammad Hafeez is among the only 9 batsmen in the world who have an average above 40 in T20 Internationals in the past 3 years (among top 8 teams with a minimum of 10 innings).

Then why were Malik and Hafeez ignored for the T20 series against Australia?

Shouldn't they be the backbone of Pakistan's World T20 campaign next year?

Should they not get some innings in the conditions where the World T20 will be played in 2020?

What are Misbah and co thinking?

There was absolutely no need to tinker with the T20 team.

Instead Misbah has overhauled a team that was the best in the world!

Unbelievable ...

Sarfaraz Ahmed is gone.

His time as captain of Pakistan's national team across all three formats is over and for now his time as a player is over too!

While I was still trying to get my head around this decision, Pakistan's new and all powerful Chief Selector announced the Test and T20 teams for the tour to Australia, which left me even more perplexed.

My head is in a cross wire over all these changes and I am still trying to make sense of them.


CAPTAINCY CONFUSION

When the announcement came, the headline read "Sarfaraz Ahmed removed as Pakistan Captain from all 3 formats".

Azhar Ali was announced Test Captain, Babar Azam was announced T20 Captain, and a decision on the ODI captain was deferred till July 2020, which is when Pakistan plays its next ODI.

Within minutes, however, the article was updated:

So which one is it?

Has Sarfaraz been retained as ODI captain or has he been removed?

I still don't know.


WAS IT RIGHT TO REMOVE SARAFRAZ?

There is no easy answer.

Pakistan won the Champions Trophy under him two years ago.

They failed to qualify for the World Cup semifinals but only because of Net Run Rate. They ended the World Cup with 4 straight wins.

Pakistan have won their last 6 ODIs under Sarfraz.

Pakistan have been the number 1 ranked T20 team for two years under Sarfaraz. No Pakistan captain had a better record in T20s than him.

Considering all this, maybe he should have been retained.

But then you think about all those losses in ODIs against the top 8 teams. Besides the wins in CT2017, Pakistan barely registered any victory against the top 8 ODI teams under Sarfaraz.

You think about losing a first ever test series in the UAE, which had become Pakistan's fortress under Misbah Ul Haq.

You think about the clean sweep in the T20 series against a second string, albeit talented, Sri Lanka.

But even then was the captaincy strip warranted?

A closer look at Sarfaraz's captaincy record reveals this:

TESTS
13 matches | 4 wins | 8 losses | 1 draw
568 runs at 25.81 with 5 fifties

He looked out of depth as test captain.

His batting suffered.

While those numbers are not bad, they are not good enough for someone who wanted to bat in the top 6. For a number 7 WK they are also strictly okay. He was far better before he took on the captaincy and was averaging in the 40s.

ODIS
50 matches | 28 wins | 20 losses | 2 NR
804 runs at 32.2 and SR of 87.3 with 5 fifties

A W:L ratio of 1.4 is not bad.

However, a closer look at the wins shows that 17 out of 28 came against the top 8 ODI sides, out of which 8 wins were against Sri Lanka.

Out of the remaining 9 wins, 3 came on the trot leading to the Champions Trophy win.

Pakistan never looked like a world beating ODI team under Sarfaraz, except for that 1 week in 2017, however it wasn't all that bad either.

His own form too was alright. An average of 32 for a wicket keeper is fine in my opinion. He probably did not fit in the top 5 but at 6 or 7 he was fine.

He perhaps could have continued as ODI captain. Maybe he will. Who knows.

T20Is
37 matches | 29 Wins | 8 losses
521 runs at 27.4 and SR of 130.6

Someone who achieved these numbers did not deserve to be sacked.

Under Sarfraz, Pakistan won 11 consecutive T20 series, beating all teams in all sorts of conditions. They beat England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and even a World XI.

Pakistan rose to the top of the International T20 Rankings and remained the number 1 T20 team for two years.

They still are the number 1 T20 team, despite the 3-0 loss to Sri Lanka.

Pakistan have won only 1 out of their last 6 T20 internationals, however after a string of wins across 11 successful series, the selectors should have been a bit more considerate.

While remaining as ODI captain is debatable, Sarfaraz surely did not deserve to be sacked as a T20 captain. Even his batting record was fine in T20s.

Sarfaraz was one of the most successful captains in the history of T20 cricket. The least the PCB could have done was give him a chance to lead the team in a World T20.




In my view, it was right to remove Sarfaraz as test captain and replace him with Azhar Ali. In fact, Azhar Ali should have always been test captain. It is quite unfortunate that Azhar was made ODI captain and did not get the test captaincy, after Misbah's retirement, because of his failure as an ODI captain.

Removing Sarfaraz as T20 captain is completely unjust. Sure Pakistan lost 3-0 to Sri Lanka but take a look at the 3 years before that. Does that count for nothing?

I wish Babar Azam all the success in the world - as a batsman and as Pakistan's T20 captain. But his time could have come later. Pakistan need his batting right now more than his captaincy.

Sarfaraz should have been the one to lead Pakistan in next year's World T20.

It was poor. Really really poor from Pakistan.

This loss hurt more than the loss to the West Indies, who totally outplayed Pakistan. Against Australia, Pakistan just gave it way. Multiple times.

Overcast conditions. Green top. Any international captain would have opted to bowl first. But why doesn't Pakistan's team management understand that they can't chase? Why don't they know that their only winning formula is to put runs on the board and defend.

Maybe they were scared that their batsmen would skittle out on a green top. Maybe they felt their pacers would blow Australia away.

I can live with this decision however. The way Mohammed Aamir bowled, it was a bowl first wicket.

Poor Shaheen is too inexperienced and he was playing after a long gap. Perhaps they should have given the new ball to Wahab.

The fielding didn't help. The catching let Pakistan down.

Had those two aspects of the game been perfect, Pakistan's decision to bowl first would have been justified.

But it was poor. Dropped chances, misfields, overthrows. It all let Pakistan down.

Nevertheless, restricting Australia to 307 was a tremendous comeback.

Aamir bowled his heart out. Wahab is on another level this World Cup. Shaheen redeemed himself in later spells.

307 was chaseable. Or was it? With Pakistan, no score seems chaseable really.

The chase did not start ideally. Fakhar left early. But Imam and Babar made it look really easy.

After Babar left to a shot he should not have played, Hafeez took over and made it look even easier.

136-2 in 25 overs. An 80 run partnership with Imam and Hafeez looking settled.

It should have been done.

But then, as it happens so often, Pakistan were reduced to 160-6 in no time!

Imam, like Babar, should have left the ball alone.

Hafeez should have smashed the full toss out of the park.

Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali should have been more cautious.

Yet they weren't.

Why, why do they keep doing this to us?

It was so easy!

Despite all this, Sarfraz, Hasan Ali, and Wahab Riaz fought like tigers. They got Pakistan to within 50 runs of the target at run a ball.

What could have been will always remain just that.

We didn't really expect Pakistan to beat Australia, but that was the case against England too. Had Pakistan been destroyed the way they were against West Indies, it would not have hurt so much.

They got so close, they made a match out of it, and they were in total control.

How could they let it slip?

This now leaves Pakistan with only 3 points from its 4 matches. With 5 more to go, they can't afford to lose even one. Mathematically, they can still go through if they win 4 out of the last 5, but that would require other results going Pakistan's way.

Better to do it yourself then rely on other teams. Who knows whose side fortune is on. Every year can't be 1992.

I let go of the West Indies loss very quickly, and was quietly confident against England.

But this one, against Australia, I am finding difficult to let go. I hope the players the players are not in the same boat. They need to shrug this off quickly and be geared up for the match of their lives.

Against India on Sunday!

For Sarfraz and Co., it is time to bring out the cornered tigers ... Come on Pakistan!

Pakistan recently announced a 16-man squad for the 5 match ODI series against Australia, which will be played in the UAE, starting 22nd March.

Pakistan have decided to rest a number of their key players, including captain Sarfraz Ahmed, keeping in mind the hectic PSL schedule and the upcoming ICC World Cup.

There are more ODIs to be played leading up to the World Cup so Pakistan can afford to rest the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, and Shaheen Afridi who have been playing all formats for Pakistan since the start of this season.

This also gives the Green Caps a chance to test their bench strength and build a strong squad for the World Cup. There are still a few places up for grabs in the 15-man WC squad, and this series against Australia will help the selectors decide who will be on that plane to England in the summer.

Here is a look at the new additions to Pakistan's ODI squad.

THE BATSMEN
In my view, Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Hafeez, and Malik are automatic selections for Pakistan's World Cup Squad, which leaves space for two more batsmen.

Asif Ali wasted the ODI opportunities he was given, and Hussain Talat did not do enough either to grab his chances.

This sets up the competition among the 4 new names in Pakistan's ODI squad and any of these two have the chance to make it to the World Cup by impressing the selectors and team management against Australia.


UMAR AKMAL
Not a new name for anyone, but the last time Umar Akmal played an ODI was over two years ago in January 2017. He still has a healthy average and strike rate in ODIs but he was dumped by Pakistan following lackluster form that saw him make only two 50+ scores in his last 25 ODI innings.

Umar has been in scintillating form in the PSL having scored 228 runs in 8 innings at an average of 38 and strike rate of 136.5.

In addition to this, he has also performed well at the domestic level - in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup he was among the leading run scorers with 410 runs in 10 innings at an average of 41.

Umar Akmal has been given a great opportunity to extend his domestic form to the international level and cement a place in Pakistan's World Cup squad.

SHAN MASOOD
He is also not a new name, however Shan is yet to play ODI cricket for Pakistan. While he has been in and out of the test team for the past few years, he has been on the fringes of ODI selection on the back of his magnificent domestic form.

Shan's current List A average of 56.5 has just fallen behind Michael Bevan's, but a few months ago, Shan held the world record List A average.

Shan had a breakthrough 2018, finishing the year as the leading run scorer in all List A matches. He amassed 1,789 runs in 30 innings at an average of 74.54. His 30 innings included 7 hundreds and 10 fifties!

That run tally included 5 innings for Pakistan A against the England Lions, where Shan was the second highest run scorer between both sides, with 238 runs at an average of 47.6.

With Fakhar rested for the series against Australia, Shan will definitely make his ODI debut and he is in with a chance to make the World Cup squad as a third opener.

ABID ALI
He is a domestic veteran having been around Pakistan's domestic circuit for the past 14 years, during which Abid Ali has played 91 List A and 102 First Class Matches.

He averages 38 in both formats, which is not world class, but following a successful 2018, he was deserving of chance, which he has got now.

2018 was his most successful year yet, where he scored 1,318 runs in 24 List A innings, including 3 hundreds and 9 fifties. He ended the year with a List A average of 60! This included 299 runs in 5 innings in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup where he averaged 59.8. His 5 innings included 4 fifties with a top score of 91.

He got only two chances in the List A matches against England Lions, and in one of those he smashed 140. He was also among the leading run scorers in First Class matches against the England Lions and New Zealand A, scoring a century against each of the teams.

Abid Ali will have to make the most of his chances against Australia to be in the running for the 1-2 batting spots that are available in Pakistan's WC squad.

SAAD ALI
He has been around the domestic circuit for almost 7 years and has an impressive List A and First Class record, averaging over 46 in both formats.

Saad impressed in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup scoring 243 runs in 5 innings at an average of 48.6. He was also impressive in the only First Class innings he got against New Zealand A scoring 144.

Like Abid Ali, Saad will also have to make the most of his chances against Australia to try and impress the selectors for a World Cup selection.

THE BOWLERS
Pakistan is spoiled for choice when it comes to pacers. The likes of Mohammad Aamir, Usman Khan Shinwari, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, and Hasan Ali are already in the fold.

And for the upcoming series against Australia, Pakistan have recalled Junaid Khan, given a first time chance to Mohammad Abbas, and are also going to try out the raw pace of 18-year old Mohammad Hasnain.

On the spin front, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim should be the first pick for Pakistan's World Cup Squad, but Yasir Shah could also be considered if he can replicate his test form into ODIs in the series against Australia.

It is going to be tough for Pakistan to pick 7 bowlers out of this talented line up for the World Cup.




























MOHAMMAD HASNAIN
He is only 18 years old and has only played 2 First Class Matches and 4 T20 Matches - all of them in the ongoing PSL.

He has picked up 5 wickets in the 4 PSL matches and has impressed everyone with his sheer pace, at times clocking over 150kmh!

Considering Pakistan's battery of pacers, Mohammad Hasnain may find it tough to make it to the World Cup squad, but you never know what could happen if he excels in the ODI series against Australia.

MOHAMMAD ABBAS
He has been Pakistan's Test spearhead for the past two years, picking up 66 wickets at an average of under 19 in the 14 tests he has played.

He has an impressive List A record too with an average a shade under 28 and an economy rate well under 5. Yet he has never been tried in ODIs by Pakistan.

He has had most of his test success on the docile UAE pitches, and he also spearheaded Pakistan's test win at Lord's last summer with an 8 wicket haul that got him the Man of the Match Award.

His bowling style is well suited for English pitches and if he performs in the ODIs against Australia he could be the first name on Pakistan's team sheet come the World Cup.

JUNAID KHAN
Injuries and indifferent attitude of the selectors towards him has kept Junaid in and out of Pakistan's ODI squads.

He is among the senior bowlers for Pakistan and has a super international record with 104 wickets at an average of 27.8 and an economy rate of 5.2.

In my view he is an automatic selection for the World Cup, but with this ODI series against Australia being considered his comeback, he would need to impress the right people given the number of left arm pacers Pakistan already has.

YASIR SHAH
In the 19 ODIs that Yasir has played, of which the last was in July 2018, he has never really excelled the way he has in Tests.

He is Pakistan's go to spinner in tests, but Shadab and Imad have been preferred in the shorter formats.

Including Yasir in the presence of Shadab and Imad along with the part time of Hafeez and Malik seems superfluous, and two leg spinners in a playing XI never really makes sense.

I don't think Yasir has a chance to make it to the World Cup squad, and it could be that he was considered for this series to allow Shadab some rest.


Pakistan are going into the series against Australia with 5 uncapped players - Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Saad Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, and Mohammad Abbas; and 3 players who are returning to ODIs - Umar Akmal, Junaid Khan, and Yasir Shah.

It is the perfect opportunity for all of these players to display their talent and book a ticket to England for the summer.

It will be interesting to watch how these players perform in the ODI series against Australia and who from there makes it to the World Cup party.