Pakistan include four uncapped players in squad for New Zealand ODIs series

Pakistan have named a 20-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand.

The selectors have named four uncapped players in the side which include wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris, pacers Mohammad Wasim and Shahnawaz Dahani, and leg spinner Zahid Mahmood while Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah have been recalled. Both the players last played in the ODI against Zimbabwe back in November 2020.

Pakistan's chief selector Muhammad Wasim lavished praise on Dahani who was the leading wicket-taker in this year’s PSL.

"Shahnawaz Dahani was unfortunate to miss the selection for the England matches as the squad was announced before the start of the remaining 20 HBL PSL 6 matches. Hence, he was a straightforward selection when we sat to discuss and finalise the side for the New Zealand series,” he said.

Haris Sohail, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Sohaib Maqsood haven’t found a place for themselves in the team for the fixtures. The team will be led by Babar Azam while Mohammad Rizwan remains the first-choice wicket-keeper for the selectors.

"Mohammad Rizwan remains the first-choice wicketkeeper, as such, it has been decided to include 20-year-old Mohammad Haris in place of Sarfaraz Ahmed,” said Wasim.

The Blackcaps are slated to travel to Pakistan for three ODIs and a five-match T20I series in September-October.

Squad: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir and Zahid Mahmood

Discover more

BAN vs NZ | 1st T20I: Bangla Tigers trounce Kiwis for 60 on sluggish pitch

Bangladesh bowlers thoroughly dominated the New Zealand batting order to bundle them out for 60 runs in the first T20I of the five-match series in Dhaka. This was the second instance when the Blackcaps were dismissed for a score of 60. They were once bowled out for the same score against Sri Lanka in Chattogram back in 2014. The visitors had a terrible start to the proceedings on a track that looked slowish in nature after they lost debutant Rachin Ravindra for a golden duck on the third delivery of the match. The left-hander was removed by Mahedi Hasan after he caught him off his own bowling. New Zealand then lost three more wickets in quick succession and were left tottering at 9/4 with the likes of experienced players Tom Blundell and Colin de Grandhomme back in the hut. Captain Tom Latham and Henry Nichols tried to steady the ship for the side as the two batsmen played cautiously to put 32 runs for the fifth wicket. But their stay wasn’t a long one either as first Latham departed for a 25-ball 18 after he miscued a pull shot and was caught by Nasum Ahmed off Saifuddin. The skipper’s wicket broke the shackles as it took another 17 runs for the Bangladesh bowlers to wrap up the innings. Nicholls was the only second batsman to go past the double-figure mark as he scored 18 off 24 deliveries before getting out to Saifuddin. For Bangladesh, it was Mustafizur Rahman who scalped a three-for while Ahmed, Shakib and Saifuddin picked up a couple of wickets each.

ENG vs IND: India include Prasidh Krishna in squad for 4th Test

Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna has been included in the Indian squad for the fourth Test against England at Kennington Oval, the BCCI said in a statement on Wednesday. The pacer has been travelling with the Indian team on this tour of UK right from the beginning and was in the standby players. “The All-India Senior Selection Committee - based on the request of the team management - has added fast bowler Prasidh Krishna to India’s squad for the fourth Test,” BCCI said. “Prasidh, who was on the standby list, has been training and travelling with Team India right from the start of the tour. The upcoming Test will be played at The Oval, London from 2nd September,” it added. The right-arm bowler is yet to play a Test for India but has been capped three times in ODIs where he has picked up 6 wickets. The five-match Test series is presently levelled at 1-1 with England making a fine comeback in the third encounter. The home side thrashed India by an innings and 76 runs as skipper Joe Root notched up yet another century in the series. India’s squad for the fourth Test: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna Standby player: Arzan Nagwaswalla

Joe Root becomes number one batsman in Tests, Rohit displaces Kohli from top five rankings

England skipper Joe Root has surged to the top of the ICC Rankings for batsmen in Tests after a long period of six years. He has been red-hot form in the ongoing Test series against India and has scored three centuries in as many matches. Before the series against India at home, he was also in superb tough in India and Sri Lanka earlier this year where he plundered two double centuries. Before the start of the series, he was positioned fifth on the ICC Rankings behind Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Virat Kohli, but the three centuries helped him dethrone the New Zealand skipper from the top of the table. India’s skipper Virat Kohli has had just one fifty across five innings against England and hence has slipped on the rankings to the sixth position. He has been replaced at the fifth position by his compatriot Rohit Sharma, who has brought his best game forward in the series against England. The ongoing Test series between England is wide open after the hosts achieved a remarkable series-levelling win at Headingley last week. The fourth Test of the five-match series is scheduled to begin on September 02 at the Oval.

Afghanistan Women's player Roya Samim criticises ICC, ACB for no help after Taliban advances into Kabul

Afghanistan female cricketer Roya Samim has expressed her disappointment after not receiving any response from the International Cricket Council (ICC). Samim said that she and her teammates are awaiting a response from the ICC as to how things stand for them considering the present situation in Afghanistan. “We all emailed the ICC but got no response from them,” says Samim. “Why do they not respond to us, why do they not consider us, even treat us that we don’t exist in the world? After the Taliban came into Kabul, we requested that [the ICC] please save all the girls, we are worried for our teammates. The Afghan Cricket Board [ACB] also said nothing, they said just: ‘Wait.’” Though, the ICC has said that it hasn’t received any mail. Samim is presently staying in Canada as a refugee with two of her sisters who are also cricketers in the Afghan women’s team. “Leaving Afghanistan, it was a sad day for me. I just cried,” she said. “I really love everything that I had: my job, my cricket, my teammates, my home town, my relatives. Everything that I have, I leave behind. Even now when I remember this day I will cry,” she told the Guardian.