5 Major Takeaways From Pakistan’s ODI Squads For Tours Of Australia And Zimbabwe

Bhargav Dixit


Mohammad Rizwan has been Pakistan's white-ball captain. [Source: @TheRealPCB/X]Mohammad Rizwan has been Pakistan's white-ball captain. [Source: @TheRealPCB/X]

The first ODI of Pakistan’s tour of Australia 2024 will be the first time in 360 days when Pakistan will be playing the format since their last ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 league match in India. With a change in the captain, coaching staff, selectors and administrators since then, there is not an iota of surprise around them making as many as nine changes to the squad.

As a result, batters Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel, all-rounders Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan, pacers Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim and spinner Usama Mir have all been left out.

Wicket-keeper batter Haseebullah Khan, batters Saim Ayub, Kamran Ghulam and Irfan Khan, all-rounders Arafat Minhas and Aamir Jamal, pacers Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain and spinner Faisal Akram have all benefitted with regard to earning a ticket for the flight to Australia. Yet to play an ODI, Haseebullah, Ayub, Irfan, Minhas, Jamal and Akram have represented Pakistan in one or both the remaining formats. Ghulam, Shah and Hasnain, meanwhile, have played one or more ODIs in the past.

Former captain Babar Azam, one of the six players to have retained their ODI spots, has been rested for the subsequent tour of Zimbabwe as the selectors look to implement a “rotation policy” keeping ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in mind. Apart from Azam, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, Minhas and Shah have also been rested for Zimbabwe tour.

Only tried and tested all-format players such as Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and Haris Rauf have made it across squads of the World Cup last year and two upcoming tours.

No Shadab Khan Across Formats

No one who follows Shadab Khan batting, bowling or leading Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League would believe that Pakistan’s former vice-captain is not part of their white-ball squads anymore.

While Shadab, 26, continues to register impact-generating batting cameos in domestic cricket, it is his diminishing bowling returns which have worked against him. In the most recently concluded President's Cup Grade-I, the leg-spinner picked four wickets in as many matches at an average of 55.75, an economy rate of 6.22 and a strike rate of 53.75.

In the Champions One-Day Cup prior to it, Shadab’s five wickets in as many matches had come at an inferior average, economy rate and strike rate than his Panthers’ teammate Saim Ayub, who, in spite of being nowhere near Shadab’s bowling skills, also picked the same number of wickets in the same number of matches.

In the last four years, Shadab dismissed 26 batters in 27 ODIs at an average of 46.53, an economy rate of 5.58 and a strike rate of 50. While it is the worst average among all bowlers with a minimum of 20 wickets, his strike rate is only behind Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza (55.2), Sri Lanka's Dhananjaya de Silva (53.2) and Nepal's Dipendra Singh Airee (51.7).

Have Pakistan Moved On From Iftikhar Ahmed?

Much like Shadab, even Ahmed hasn’t played international cricket since ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Been a regular member of Pakistan’s limited-overs squads in the recent years, the 34-year old player has also been left out of both the squads.

Unlike Shadab, Ahmed’s numbers aren’t among the worst globally. But maybe the Pakistani selectors have refrained from getting inspired by mediocre returns.

    Test form Doesn’t Aid Saud Shakeel

    Rizwan, Shafique and Azam were Pakistan’s highest run-scorers in the last ODI World Cup. All the batters (including Shakeel) and all-rounders following this trio on the list have been dropped. If truth be told, an average of 28.81 across 12 innings for a batter of Shakeel’s style (who doesn’t bowl at all) is unacceptable.

    That being said, anyone who has followed his ODI career can vouch for the fact that the left-handed batter had come good in several crisis situations. Those who were expecting his Test average of 56.24 to come to his rescue especially after a match-winning century in the third Test against England in Rawalpindi might be disappointed. Perhaps No. 5 isn’t Shakeel’s spot. However, accommodating him above No. 5 in Azam and Rizwan’s presence is nearly impossible.

    Massive Leap Of Faith For Haseebullah Khan

    Haseebullah Khan, who had made his T20I debut against New Zealand earlier this year, is among the four players (including Salman Agha, Irfan Khan and Rauf) who have been selected for both legs of both the upcoming tours. It is safe to say that it is the biggest leap of faith the selectors have shown on any player today.

    Be it the President's Cup¸ Champions One-Day Cup or the Pakistan Super League, the 21-year old player doesn’t have current form on his side to be entrusted to this extent. That being said, a List A average of 52.29 across 49 innings is impressive to say the least.

    Mohammad Rizwan Named White-Ball Captain

    With Azam stepping down from the leadership role, Pakistan have resisted the temptation to field a surprise in this aspect. Rizwan, who has long been part of the setup to be named the captain, is a deserving candidate to lead the team across ODIs and T20Is. Yet to play a T20I, Salman has been named his deputy across both formats.

    Rizwan, 32, had led Pakistan during the Test tour of New Zealand four years ago. However, apart from those two Tests, he never got to lead in a white-ball international due to Shadab’s presence.

    It is worth a mention that, under Rizwan, Multan Sultans lifted PSL 2021 title and have since performed a hat-trick of finishing as runners-up. Among PSL captains, no one comes close to Rizwan’s win percentage of 66.66 (minimum 20 matches).