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Pakistani selectors on Friday included three uncapped players in their squad for the first two one-day internationals against Zimbabwe.
The selectors rewarded left-handed opener Nasir Jamshed and pacer Samiullah Niazi for their impressive performances against Zimbabwe in a recent four-day tour match.
Jamshed scored 182 and Niazi took 5-for-42 in the match won by the Patrons eleven. The other uncapped player is all-rounder Kamran Hussain.
"The idea is to use the five one-dayers against Zimbabwe to test out new players without sacrificing the core strength of the team," chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said.
The selectors have already dropped experienced pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul for the series, while Mohammad Asif is recovering from an elbow operation.
Akhtar and Gul have been told to prove their match fitness in domestic cricket after fitness issues on the recent tour of India.
The first one-dayer will be played on Monday in Karachi.
Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nasir Jamshed, Fawad Alam, Rao Iftikhar, Samiullah Niazi, Kamran Hussain and Kamran Akmal.
