Babar back for ODIs vs Australia; uncapped Rohail, Minhas and Daniyal called up

Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah also returned for three-match series, while Mohammad Rizwan was omitted

Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi

Published: May 22, 2026, 8:50 AM (4 hrs ago)

Pakistan recalled Babar Azam for the three-match ODI series against Australia at home, which begins on May 30. There were also call ups for the uncapped trio of wicketkeeper-batter Rohail Nazir, left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas, and fast bowler Ahmed Daniyal.

Salman Ali Agha was named Shaheen Shah Afridi's deputy, while Mohammad Rizwan is the most striking omission from the 16-member squad, which the PCB named on Friday.

Apart from Babar, Pakistan also brought back two other experienced players in Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah. While Babar and Naseem were part of the Pakistan side that beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in November 2025 - that was the last time Pakistan played ODIs at home - Shadab's last ODI had come against England during the 2023 World Cup.

Injuries restricted Naseem to just three matches in PSL 2026. A back injury in the early days of the tournament ruled him out for the most part, and he limped off the field after a dive on his return. Like Naseem, the upcoming ODIs against Australia also mark Daniyal's return from an injury. His participation in this year's PSL was cut short to four matches after he pulled his hamstring.

Left-arm wristspinner Sufyan Moqim, whose 22 wickets for champions Peshawar Zalmi earned him the Player-of-the-Series award in PSL 2026, also returns to the Pakistan side for the ODIs against Australia. The last of his four ODIs came against West Indies in August 2025.

Pakistan last played an ODI series in March, when they toured Bangladesh. During that series, they handed debuts to six players across the three matches which they largely used to test their pool of ODI players, but ended up losing 2-1.

From the squad that toured Bangladesh, Faisal Akram, Faheem Ashraf, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Saad Masood, who had made his debut have also been left out from the side to play Australia.

Meanwhile, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, and Usman Khan were unavailable for selection. While Ayub and Fakhar are injured, Usman is ill, the PCB said in a media release. The three were not part of the Bangladesh series either.

In Ayub and Fakhar's absence, Pakistan persisted with Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat and Shamyl Hussain as the top-order batters, with all three of them having made their debuts against Bangladesh.

Pakistan squad for ODIs vs Australia

Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Salman Ali Agha (vice-capt), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Maaz Sadaqat, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir (wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shamyl Hussain, Sufyan Moqim

Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi is a cricket journalist based in Lahore

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