ISLAMABAD (AP) — Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will return to international cricket after four months after he was included Tuesday in Pakistan’s white-ball squad for this month’s home series against New Zealand.
The left-arm paceman helped Lahore Qalandars successfully defend its Pakistan Super League title last month with a rich haul of 19 wickets in the tournament after recovering from a knee injury.
Afridi missed Pakistan’s five home test matches against England and New Zealand since the T20 World Cup in Australia as he was still rehabilitating the injury.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Rizwan also return for the five-match T20 series against the Kiwis, which will be followed by five ODIs.
All those frontline players were rested for the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan, which Pakistan lost 2-1 in the United Arab Emirates under the captaincy of Shadab Khan.
Newcomers Azam Khan, Tayyab Tahir, and Abdullah Shafique, who formed the new-look Pakistan T20 team against Afghanistan, were dropped after below-par performances.
However, Pakistan has retained young fast bowlers Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan along with left-handed opener Saim Ayub after impressing the selectors in their debut T20 series against Afghanistan. Express fast bowler Ihsanullah was also named in the ODI squad.
New Zealand will start its tour with three T20s in Lahore from April 14-17, while Rawalpindi will host the remaining two T20s on April 20 and 24. Rawalpindi will also host the first two ODIs on April 27 and 29, with Karachi hosting the last three ODIs from May 3-7.
Squads
Twenty20: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Zaman Khan
ODI: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Usama Mir.