The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to exclude Hasan Nawaz from the upcoming Sri Lanka ODIs and the T20I tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe due to his recent poor performance in white-ball cricket. Nawaz, who has struggled in T20Is this year with 343 runs in 17 matches and two ducks, was advised by head coach Mike Hesson to return to domestic cricket to regain form. Consequently, Fakhar Zaman has been named as Nawaz’s replacement in the T20I squad for the tri-series.
There will be no replacement for Nawaz in the ODI squad. The PCB statement confirmed Nawaz’s release for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the premier first-class tournament in Pakistan. Nawaz, who has focused on T20 cricket, has played 12 first-class matches since 2023. Despite a brief stint in the ODI series against South Africa, where he scored only one run before being dropped, Nawaz is now set to participate in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
The Sri Lanka ODIs are scheduled to take place at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from November 11 to 15, while the T20I tri-series will run from November 17 to 29. The updated 15-member squads include Shaheen Shah Afridi leading the ODI team and Salman Ali Agha captaining the T20I squad. Key players such as Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, and Mohammad Rizwan are part of both squads.