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What's the story?
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday announced the final 15-member squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup, with the experienced pace duo of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz included in place of Junaid Khan, Faheem Ashraf, while batsman Asif Ali replaced Abid Ali, who was a part of the preliminary squad.
In case you didn't know...
Pakistan had earlier excluded some star players from the preliminary squad before heading to the England tour. Pacer Amir's exclusion was questioned by several people, including few legendary former cricketers. However, both Amir and Asif Ali were kept in the 17-man squad against the series against England
The heart of the matter
Pakistan faced a horrifying 4-0 defeat in the five-match ODI series, forcing selectors to make some changes in the already-announced squad. The selection committee, headed Inzaman-Ul-Haq, decided to bring back Amir, Riaz and Asif Ali in place of Junaid Khan, Faheem Ashraf, and Abid Ali for the final World Cup squad.
Although, Amir and Asif Ali were expected to find their place in the final World Cup squad, Riaz's inclusion came more as surprise. Asif Ali scored a couple of handy half-centuries in the recently concluded England tour, while Amir couldn't feature in any of the matches, owing to some health isssue.
On the other hand, Riaz last played for Pakistan in an ODI in 2017. He recently showed some promise in the Pakistan Super League due to which he has been given a place in the World Cup squad.
Final Squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (C, WK) , Asif Ali, Babar, Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Husnain, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz.
What's next?
The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side will be under a lot of presssure before taking field in the mega event, owing to their recent poor results. But known for their unpredictability, Pakistan can for surely make a strong comeback at the World Cup.
Also read - World cup winners' cricket captains list
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