The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Wednesday that Ahmed Daniyal and Shahnawaz Dahani have been ruled out of the ongoing Zimbabwe tour due to injuries. Daniyal, 27, suffered a hamstring injury, while Dahani, 26, sustained an ankle injury. Neither player has had the chance to feature in the ODI series so far.
Daniyal, a fast bowler with 30 wickets in 11 First-Class matches, was hoping to make his international debut during this tour. Dahani, who has previously played three ODIs and 11 T20Is, was looking to gain more experience after claiming one and eight wickets in the respective formats. Both players had last played together for the Pakistan Shaheens in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
The injured duo will return to Lahore's National Cricket Academy for rehabilitation. Abbas Afridi and Jahandad Khan are replacing them on the squad. Both were already part of the T20I lineup and will now feature in the ODI squad as well. Afridi, with 13 T20Is and 22 wickets to his name, brings valuable experience, while 21-year-old all-rounder Jahandad may make his ODI debut in the final match of the series on Thursday. Jahandad has previously played one T20I, in which he took one wicket and scored five runs.
Daniyal will be replaced in the T20I squad by Aamer Jamal, who played in the ODI series against Zimbabwe. Jamal, 28, has six T20I caps, during which he has scored 88 runs and claimed two wickets.
The rest of the squad remains unchanged. Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe begins on December 1.
Pakistan T20I Squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Aamer Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir, and Usman Khan.