Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Pakistan have included left-arm seamers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir, along with big-hitting middle order batsman Asif Ali, in their finalised World Cup squad.

With the trio coming into the side, left-arm pace bowler Junaid Khan, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and opener Abid Ali were removed from the team.

Wahab was initially not included in the list of 23 probables for the World Cup, but was the third-highest wicket-taker in this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) with 17 wickets in 13 games for the Peshawar Zalmi at an average of 19.88.

Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq explained that Wahab’s ability to make the ball reverse swing was the reason he was picked in the World Cup squad.

“Whatever you plan, you keep room to review it as well,” Inzamam was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t compromise on the team’s requirements. If he (Wahab) wasn’t originally picked in the squad, it didn’t that he had been discarded forever.

“I understand he wasn’t close to the 23 probables named for the World Cup, but no one is in the squad without a reason. The rationale behind bringing him back is his ability to reverse swing the ball. Nobody expected the pitches in the UK to be flat even in the early season there (during the recent ODI series against England). So we have realised that and reviewed our selection.

“We need to have bowlers who are good with the old ball and can defy the conditions and also have experience under their belt. Wahab has played in Tests recently and he was dropped on the basis of his form. But he did well in domestic cricket.

“But it was the requirement of the team and the conditions there in England, which have changed drastically.

“Bringing him in doesn’t reflect any panic, but it’s a decision purely based on requirement.”

Amir was left out of the squad when it was announced last month.

The 27-year-old has been in dismal form since the conclusion of the Champions Trophy in June 2017 as he has taken five wickets in 15 matches at an average of 92.60.

While he was picked for the first ODI against England, he didn’t get the chance to bowl as the match was abandoned due to persistent rain.

He didn’t feature in the last four matches in the series as he was suspected to be suffering from chickenpox.

“If you analyse the series, if the Pakistan bowlers were punished, so were the England bowlers,” Inzamam said. “So whatever the conditions, we need experienced bowlers, and Amir is very much ahead of every bowler we have. He was originally never discarded either, but we kept him with the team for the England series.”

As for Asif, he scored 142 runs in the five ODIs against England, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 35.50 and a strike-rate of 131.48.

Speaking about the decision to drop Junaid and Faheem, Inzamam said: “Junaid and Faheem are dropped but that doesn’t mean they are not good. But we think players like Amir and Wahab are more suitable for these conditions, which is why we have preferred them.”

Pakistan will play two World Cup warm-up games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh in Bristol and Cardiff on May 24 and 26 respectively.

They will then begin their World Cup campaign against the West Indies in Nottingham on May 31.

Pakistan’s World Cup Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hasnain

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