South Africa vs Pakistan: Mohammad Amir comes back to the ODI squad

Pakistan haven’t had the best of campaigns thus far in South Africa by any means. The team, captained by wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, lost the first two Tests in Centurion and Cape Town respectively. Subsequently, the visitors lost the series with the third and final Test scheduled to take place from Friday, January 11 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

They are next scheduled to play a five-match ODI series against the Proteas that will start on Saturday, January 19 at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth. Durban, Centurion, Johannesburg and Cape Town are the venues for the remaining encounters. In the meantime, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a power-packed 16-man squad for the 50-overs fixtures.

Sarfraz to lead the team

The team would be captained by Sarfraz itself. In the batting department, Pakistan have the likes of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, both of whom need to shoulder a chunk of the responsibility. The series is also an opportunity for Fakhar Zaman to get his form back. A lot would depend on Babar Azam, who is currently going through a purple patch in international cricket.

Mohammad Rizwan, who last donned the national colours back in January 2017, has also made a comeback. The 26-year-old has mostly been captaining the A team in all the formats. Mohammad Amir, who last played coloured-clothing cricket in the Asia Cup, also staked his claim back in the team.

The all-rounders in Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim would also need to play their roles. Along with Amir, the team also has Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Shinwari as the left-arm seamers. Shan Masood, after an impressive show in the Test series in the Rainbow Nation, has been included as well.

Here is the squad

Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Amir, Imam-ul-Haq, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shan Masood, Shadab Khan

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