Pakistan rest six key players, Abbas given World Cup trial

Sarfaraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi have all been told to put their feet up, while Hussain Talat has been dropped and Mohammad Hafeez is still benched after thumb surgery.

Coming in for the aforementioned are Haris Sohail, Junaid Khan, Umar Akmal, Yasir Shah and the uncapped quartet of Abbas, Abid Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Saad Ali, while Shoaib Malik, the 37-year-old all-rounder with 279 ODI appearances under his belt, will lead Pakistan in Sarfaraz’s absence.

Pakistan chairman of selectors Inzamam-ul-Haq conceded that the decision to rest star players was “taking into consideration the player workload in the build-up to the World Cup”. After this series, Pakistan face England in a one-off T20I and a five-match ODI series, with various warm-up games also scheduled prior to the World Cup.

“Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain and Saad Ali have been rewarded for stellar performances in domestic cricket," confirmed Inzamam. "Abid Ali has been knocking on the doors of international cricket … Mohammad Hasnain has been identified as one of the fast bowlers for the future."

It is the selection of Abbas, up until now a five-day specialist for Pakistan, that is the most intriguing, as he gears up for a World Cup trial. “Mohammad Abbas, we think, will be a handy wicket-taking bowler in English conditions as he has regularly made the new ball do the talking,” added Inzamam. “He can be as effective and lethal with the new ball in ODI cricket as he is in the longer format.”

The Pakistan cricket team will depart for the UAE on 18 March.

Pakistan ODI squad to face Australia: Shoaib Malik (c), Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Saad Ali, Shan Masood, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari, Yasir Shah.