Pakistan Veterans canned as Ehsan Mani focuses on youth

One of Ehsan Mani’s first duties after being appointed as the new Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board was to select the squad for the 2018 Asia Cup.

As chairman of the board Mani is also the chairman of the panel of selectors.

The tournament has reverted to the ODI format having been staged as a T20I showpiece when it was last held.

The biggest shock surrounding the squad would be the exclusion of experienced allrounders Mohammad Hafeez and Imad Wasim.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah also failed to make the grade but the performance of Shadab Khan in white-ball, and indeed even in Test cricket, makes it no surprise that Yasir was deemed surplus to requirements.

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The rest of the squad remains unchanged from the last one-day international series Pakistan featured in, a five-match face-off against Zimbabwe.

Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq annd Pakistan’s first-ever ODI double centurion Fakhar Zaman make a power-packed batting line-up that will also have the experience of Shoaib Malik and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Quick bowler Shaheen Afridi has been included in the squad while opening batsman Shan Masood has also received a call-up for the six-nation tournament.

Pakistan begin their Asia Cup campaign with a league game against the winner of the Asia Cup Qualifier on 16 September.

Full squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Imam ul Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Shinwari, Shaheen Afridi

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