In a shocking development, Pakistan included the middle-order batter Saud Shakeel in their 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday, August 26. Shakeel was not part of the initial squad but now finds a place in the main team which came as a surprise for the fans. Shakeel takes Tayyab Tahir’s place in the team with the latter taking the travelling reserves’ role for the marquee tournament.
Pakistan are set to kick off the Asia Cup 2023 campaign in a Group A match against Nepal on August 30 and a clash against India on September 2. They sealed the ODI series against Afghanistan with a clean sweep on Saturday but the PCB announced changes to the squad during the 3rd match.
Shakeel, 27, was included in the squad for the Afghanistan series but didn’t get a chance to bat in the first two matches. He found a place in the playing XI for the third game but managed to score just nine runs. He has been in sensational form in Test cricket lately but has scored just 76 runs in six ODI matches so far.
Tayyab was a surprise inclusion in Pakistan’s squad for the Asia Cup 2023 having not played a single ODI game before. The 30-year-old middle-order batter has impressive numbers in List A cricket and recently smashed a match-winning hundred against India in the final of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup 2023. He was part of the squad for the Afghanistan series but didn’t get a chance to showcase his talent due to fierce competition for the middle-order places in the current team.
Pakistan ODI Squad for Asia Cup 2023: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve).
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