Ahmed Shehzad has fared extremely well in the ongoing Departmental One Day Cup

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad has returned to the national team for the upcoming Twenty20 series against New Zealand, which will get underway on January 22 in Wellington.

Shehzad was dropped for the ODI series, but caught the attention of the national selectors with his performance in the ongoing Departmental One Day Cup, where he has scored 403 runs in seven matches for Habib Bank Limited at an average of 67.16.

Azhar Ali, who took Shehzad’s spot in the ODI squad, was left out of the Twenty20 side. Wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, who had been given an opportunity to prove his worth during the tour of West Indies last August, suffered the same fate.

Despite failing to live up to expectations when being handed a chance to revive his international career, Kamran continues to impress on the domestic circuit in Pakistan as he has accumulated 445 runs in six Departmental One Day Cup matches at an average of 74.16 and a strike-rate of 109.87.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Imad Wasim, who is second on the rankings for Twenty20 bowlers, will miss the series as he continues to recover from a knee injury.

“Imad Wasim was yet to recover from his knee injury, and was told to continue his rehabilitation at the NCA,” chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said.

Pakistan’s T20 Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt &wk), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees, Umar Amin