Babar Azam Dropped As Pakistan Team Announced vs Zimbabwe, Picked For Australia Series

Former captain Babar Azam, pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah on Sunday returned to the Pakistan team for the upcoming white-ball series in Australia after being sidelined for two Tests against England. The Pakistani selectors announced the One-Day International and T20I squads for the tours of Australia and Zimbabwe starting next month. Many new faces have been brought into the squads, while senior players like Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan missed out on selection.

Fakhar is facing an inquiry from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for tweeting in support of Babar before the selectors dropped him for the England Tests.

The chairman of the PCB, Mohsin Naqvi, will announce the new captains for the limited-overs formats later this afternoon at a media conference.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha are expected to be named the new white-ball skippers.

In some bold steps, the selectors have decided to use the ODIs and T20s in Zimbabwe to test new players.

Meanwhile, the three ODIs and T20Is each in Australia will have all the main players.

Babar, Shaheen and Naseem, all sidelined after the opening Test versus England, return for the Australian leg of the tour. However, they have been rested for the Zimbabwe tour.

The Australia tour is slated to run from November 4-18.

Meanwhile, the three-match ODI and T20I series in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe will be played from November 24 to December 5.

Pakistan will also be touring South Africa for three ODIs, three T20Is and two Tests in December-January.

The selectors, including Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali, Aleem Dar, Asad Shafiq and Hasan Cheema, also announced that while Rizwan will be available for the Australia tour and Zimbabwe ODIs, he will be rested for the Zimbabwe