Pakistan have named Iftikhar Ahmed, the middle-order batsman who last played an international in 2016, in their squad for the one-day internationals against Sri Lanka, along with Mohammad Rizwan, the wicket-keeper batsman, and Mohammad Nawaz, the all-rounder, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said today (21).

Mohammad Hafeez was left out of the squad for the three-match series, starting in Karachi on 27 September. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali, the pacemen, were the other notable absentees from the 16-member squad led by Sarfaraz Ahmed. While Afridi has been sidelined with dengue, Hasan is suffering from back spasms.

Iftikhar earned a place in the squad after scoring back-to-back hundreds in the Pakistan Cup, the domestic 50-over tournament. The last time he played an ODI was in November 2015, against England in Sharjah.

Nawaz, the spin-bowling all-rounder, also impressed in the Pakistan Cup with two half-centuries and is set to play his first ODI since turning out against Ireland in August 2018.

Rizwan, who scored two centuries against Australia in the five-match ODI series in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, had been overlooked for the World Cup, with captain Sarfaraz Ahmed returning to the set-up. However, Misbah suggested Rizwan could play as a specialist batsman this time.

“Safaraz and Rizwan’s roles are different,” he said, “If someone has scored two hundreds at No. 4, you have a chance. You have the added advantage of having two wicket-keepers. Fitness-wise, he is very good, and he will be in the loop. We are trying to encourage such players, and we will try to give them matches whenever we have a chance.”

Pakistan ODI squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam, Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan Shinwari, Wahab Riaz