Imam-ul-Haq, nephew of Pakistan’s chairman of selectors Inzamam-ul-Haq, has received his maiden ODI call up for the five-match series against Sri Lanka in the UAE.
The 21-year-old left-handed opener recently scored a century for Habib Bank against FATA in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy – Pakistan’s first-class competition – and had also impressed in matches against Nepal and Hong Kong in March, registering three-figure scores against both teams playing for Pakistan Under-23.
Azhar Ali, the former ODI captain, has been left out of the 15-member squad while Wahab Riaz too wasn’t considered. Imam replacing Azhar was the only change from Pakistan Champions Trophy squad, which was pruned to 15 after Wahab was ruled out of the tournament mid-way due to an ankle injury.
The five-match series against Sri Lanka, which begins on October 13 in Dubai, is the first ODI assignment for the Sarfraz Ahmed-led side since their Champions Trophy triumph. The second and third ODIs, scheduled for October 16 and 18, will be played in Abu Dhabi following which the teams will move to Sharjah for the final two matches on October 20 and 23.
Pakistan squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Imad Wasim, Shahdab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammed Amir, Ruman Raees, Junaid Khan, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq
