Usman Khan named Mohammad Amir's replacement for Sri Lanka ODIs
Usman Khan played two games in the three-match T20I series in Lahore against World XI
What's the story?
Left-arm fast bowler Usman Khan has been named as a replacement for the injured Mohammad Amir for the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka due to begin in Dubai on October 13. Usman has played four T20Is for Pakistan and is yet to make his ODI debut. The 23-year-old recently picked up a five-wicket haul to help his first-class side, Habib Bank, register an innings victory over Rawalpindi.
Amir sustained a stress injury on his right shin and was ruled out of the ongoing second Test in Dubai as well as the ODI series that is to follow. He was injured on the first day of the day-night Test and was advised rest for two-three weeks following scans.
Here's the Pakistan squad for the ODI series: Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (C & WK), Imad Wasim, Shahdab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan, Ruman Raees, Junaid Khan, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq.
In case you didn't know...
Usam played two games of the recently-concluded three-match T20I series against the World XI in Lahore. Having made his debut in 2013, he was out of the reckoning after featuring in the two-match T20I series also against Sri Lanka that year.
He played for the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League 2017 and picked up six wickets at 33 and an economy rate of 7.61. In his List-A career, Usman has 30 wickets at 26.63 with three four-wicket hauls.
The details
Amir's injury came as a big blow to Pakistan's chances in the Test series, which they are already trailing 1-0 after their shock defeat in Abu Dhabi wherein they failed to chase down 136 in the fourth innings.
Amir has picked up just a solitary wicket this series and that came in the first innings of the second Test. In reply to Sri Lanka's 482, Pakistan were bowled out for 262 in their first innings thereby conceding a lead of 220 runs.
Although an inspired bowling performance from Wahab Riaz, who was axed from the ODI team, saw Sri Lanka struggling at 34/5 at stumps on day 3.
Author's take
A like-for-like replacement augurs well for Pakistan, especially considering the fact that they have always been dependent on their bowlers to win them games even on unhelpful surfaces. Along with Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan, Usman would form a three-pronged pace attack, which although looks short on experience but would bring an element of fearlessness to their bowling.