LAHORE: Dashing opener Fakhar Zaman is set to return to the Pakistan squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy, but the inclusions of Faheem Ashraf and Khushdil Shah have turned out to be the most surprising ones in the 15-member side announced by the country’s cricket board on Friday.

Fakhar last featured in a One-day International during the 2023 World Cup before falling out of the selectors’ favour due to part controversy — his tweet against the Pakistan Cricket Board over Babar Azam’s selection — and part injury and medical condition.

The flamboyant southpaw comes into the squad at the expense of injured fellow left-handed opener Saim Ayub, who had established himself as Pakistan’s number one choice at the top of the line-up in across the team’s last three white-ball series before fracturing his ankle during the second Test against South Africa earlier this month.

Since his ODI debut in November last year, Saim amassed 515 runs in nine outings at an average of 64.37, scoring with an impressive strike-rate of 105.53. His recovery, according to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, would take further three to four weeks to complete.

Faheem, Khushdil inclusions spring surprise; Saud replaces Abdullah

“We understand how much he was looking forward to the Champions Trophy and recognise how devastating it must be for him to miss a global event, especially when he is in such exceptional batting form,” selector Asad Shafiq said of Saim in a PCB release, while expressing optimism over Fakhar’s comeback.

“Fakhar Zaman’s return is a significant boost for our top-order. His aggressive approach and match-winning capabilities are vital to our plans.”

Saim’s fellow opener in the recent series Abdullah Shafique has also been dropped and replaced with Test mainstay Saud Shakeel, who Asad suggested may feature in the top-order.

While the aforementioned changes make some sense given Saim’s unavailability and Abdullah’s bad form, Faheem and Khushdil’s selection is strange as the duo was hardly anywhere near Pakistan reckoning with the selectors opting for fresh faces in the series against Zimbabwe, Australia and South Africa.

Medium-pace-bowling all-rounder Faheem and spin-bowling all-rounder Khushdil have come in place of promising Chinaman bowler Sufiyan Moqim and emerging batter Irfan Khan Niazi.

The PCB said the two players were included to give Pakistan all-round options, “adding versatility and providing captain Mohammad Rizwan with additional options”.

Faheem’s last ODI was in September 2023 while Khushdil last represented Pakistan in the format in August 2022.

Khushdil has been identified as a spin-bowling option by the selectors along with Salman Ali Agha — who offers more with the bat than his off-spin — and the only specialist spinner in the squad in Abrar Ahmed.

“Abrar Ahmed will lead the spin attack, supported by Khushdil Shah and Salman Ali Agha, who offer reliable slow-bowling options,” read Asad’s statement.

The squad, to be captained by Rizwan with Salman as vice-captain, includes three members from the 2017 title-winning side — Babar Azam, Faheem and Fakhar.

Babar and Fakhar, along with pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi and fellow fast-bowler Haris Rauf, and Saud had also featured in the last 2023 World Cup. Domestic performers Usman Khan and Tayyab Tahir have also been picked.

Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain will complete Pakistan’s pace battery in the Champions Trophy squad, which will also feature in the preceding tri-nation series involving South Africa and New Zealand.

The tri-nation series will be held from Feb 8-14 before the Pakistan take on the Kiwis in the Champions Trophy opener on Feb 19 in Karachi. The Rizwan-led unit will play India in Dubai (Feb 23) and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi (Feb 27) in their group-stage matches.

Squad: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Saud Shakeel, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2025