Pakistan to hand debut to four uncapped players for the first ODI against Bangladesh

Pakistan will begin their 2027 ODI World Cup preparations with as many as four uncapped players in their playing XI for the first ODI against Bangladesh. 

Four debutants as Pakistan rebuild

Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi confirmed the news on the eve of the game, with Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain, and Abdul Samad among the debutants for the opening game in Dhaka on March 11.

Sahibzada Farhan, who comes off a barely believable World Cup campaign where he top-scored with 383 runs, is expected to open with youngster Maaz Sadaqat joining him. While Sahibzada has not played any List A games since 2024, he averages 41.8 in the format, and selectors expect him to translate his T20I brilliance into ODIs.

Maaz, Shamyl, Samad rewarded 

Maaz, on the other hand, was part of Pakistan Shaheens' side that played England Lions in a five-match 50-over series before it was abandoned after just one game following the escalation of the Middle East conflict between US-Israel and Iran. 

Maaz was the standout performer during the Rising Stars Asia Cup last year, scoring 258 runs at an average of 129.

Shaheen also confirmed that Shamyl Hussain will slot in at first drop. Shamyl ended the recently concluded Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as the second-highest run-scorer, though his returns against Lions did not encapsulate the same brilliance.

Abdul Samad, who plays in the middle order, was Shaheens’ top run-scorer in the T20 leg of the tour against England Lions. 

Samad is more cut out for the shorter format, as shown by his explosive hitting, though his List A average of 35 makes him a good longer-format option, especially down the order.

No one was dropped

Pakistan earlier dropped Babar Azam and Saim Ayub, while Fakhar Zaman was sidelined due to an injury, though Shaheen and coach Mike Hesson insisted against using the word ‘dropped’ for those players. 

The duo maintained that the Bangladesh series was the opportunity to test youngsters as the side begins its journey for the ODI World Cup next year.

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