Umar Gul makes a comeback in Pakistan ODI squad for the tour of England

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the squad for the One Day-International series against Ireland and England starting August 18. The team led by Azhar Ali has the most significant inclusion in the team is that of 32-year old left-arm pacer Umar Gul who had been out of favor for a considerable period. Gul last featured for Pakistan in an ODI in April 2015.

The selectors have also included uncapped pacer Hasan Ali in the squad while leg-spinner Yasir Shah also makes a comeback in the ODI team after being suspended by the ICC for consumption of banned substance.

The most significant changes in the squad are the inclusions of – Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, and Mohammad Nawaz and the exclusions of – Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, Sohaib Maqsood and Zafar Gohar.

While most had anticipated Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal’s axing after they were in the firing line of new chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and were overlooked for the preparatory camp; the one name that was surprisingly missing was right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan.

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The only new name in the squad is Hasan Ali. The right-arm pacer has 40 wickets in 21 matches to his name in List A cricket along with 106 wickets from 23 games at the first-class level. He plays for the Islamabad team in List A games and has also been a part of the Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL. Ali’s inclusion also has a lot to do with him being in the Pakistan A team, for the tri-series against England Lions and Sri Lanka A.

Pakistan ODI squad:

Azhar Ali (C), Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz

Following the Test series, Pakistan will play 2 ODIs against Ireland and will follow it up with 5 ODIs against England.

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