The Pakistan Cricket Board has named a 15-man squad for an ODI series against Australia, scheduled to begin on Friday, May 22. Shaheen Shah Afridi has been appointed captain for the three-match contest, with a group that blends familiar one-day performers and fresh faces returning to the 50-over fold.
Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf are among the notable players included, alongside Sufyan Moqim, who missed out on the recent ODI matches versus Bangladesh. The PCB selection also features three players who have not yet played ODI cricket: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas and Rohail Nazir. All three have, however, already made appearances in international T20 cricket.
In its statement, the PCB explained that Usman Khan was not considered because of illness. For wicketkeeping duties, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori and Rohail Nazir have been identified as the two frontline options in the squad. Pakistan’s group is set to gather in Islamabad on Friday for a training camp ahead of the series.
Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were also left out due to injuries sustained earlier, and both are expected to continue their rehabilitation under the PCB’s medical panel. Meanwhile, Australia are due to travel to Pakistan on May 23, with their first stop being Islamabad.
The ODI schedule then moves quickly: the opening match is slated for May 30 in Rawalpindi, followed by the second ODI in Lahore on June 2, and the third on June 4. Pakistan and Australia last met in a bilateral ODI series in late 2024, when Pakistan won 2-1—marking their first ODI series success in Australia in 22 years. Australia’s most recent ODI tour of Pakistan came in 2022, and Pakistan again emerged victorious by the same margin of 2-1.
ODI squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (C), Salman Ali Agha (VC), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (WK), Rohail Nazir (WK), Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shamyl Hussain and Sufyan Moqim
