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Published 01 Feb, 2008 12:00am

Rauf, Naumanullah among five changes for Sheikhupura tie: Final ODI against Zimbabwe

LAHORE, Jan 31: Pakistan, eyeing a clean sweep of the five-match One-day International series against Zimbabwe in the final match at Sheikhupura on Saturday, has named five upcoming players in the line-up.

The national selection committee on Thursday announced a 15-member squad for the last one-dayer of the five-match series which the hosts lead by 4-0.

The selectors, who have already experimented with quite a few youngsters in the contest so far including Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, Sohail Khan and Samiullah Khan Niazi, have now also called up Abdur Rauf, Wahab Riaz, Khurram Manzoor, Naumanullah and Rizwan Ahmed for the fifth game.

In-form Rauf, with 367 scalps in the four-day matches and another 48 in the one-dayers in a career spanning five years, is likely to make the playing eleven on Saturday after being the highest wicket-taker in the current season as well.

Rauf will, however, be competing with two other medium-pacers for a place in Sheikhupura tie including Junaid Zia and Wahab Riaz. Junaid who has represented Pakistan four times in ODIs, has claimed 46 wickets in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy this season while Wahab has 51 scalps to his name. Also included for the final match is promising leg-spinner Rizwan Ahmed and prolific middle-order batsman Naumanullah who has scored 949 runs in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

Meanwhile, senior batsman Younis Khan, after a one-match rest at Faisalabad, has returned to the squad while three others - Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf and an injured Kamran Hussain who made his debut in the third match at Multan, have been rested.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Naumanullah, Fawad Alam, Rizwan Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Zia, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Abdur Rauf.

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