Johannesburg: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday made three changes to its squad for the third and final One-Day International (ODI) against South Africa.
The Green Shirts, who are leading the three-match series 2-0, have made changes to their lineup with middle-order batsman Tayyab Tahir, off-spinner Mohammad Hasnain and emerging left-arm off-spinner Sufyan Muqim replacing Mohammad Irfan Khan, Haris Rauf and Abrar. Ahmed respectively.
The left-arm pacer earned his place in the line-up on the back of impressive performances in the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe, highlighted by his record bowling figures of 5/3.
The move is part of PCB’s aim to give opportunities to emerging talents, while at the same time ensuring player rotation.
Despite being out for a duck in both the first two ODIs, right-handed opener Abdullah Shafiq has managed to retain his place in the line-up and will continue to open the innings for the green shirts alongside the in-form Saim Ayub, the star batsman. Babar Azam follows.
Skipper Muhammad Rizwan, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha and returnee Tayyab Tahir make up the middle class.
Pakistan’s bowling attack, which also includes Naseem Shah, Hasnain and Sufyan, will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Pakistan playing XI in 3rd ODI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan (c), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Muhammad Hasnain and Sufyan Muqim.