Young all-rounder Arnav Jain has earned his inaugural place in a senior Netherlands squad, while Scott Edwards will take charge of his first full series following the recent retirement of Pieter Seelaar when the three-match ODI series against Pakistan commences here on August 16.
Netherlands have also handed a recall to experienced wicketkeeper-batter Wesley Barresi at the age of 38. Baressi hasn't played international cricket for his country since June 2019, but earns a call-up with a host of first choice players away in England participating in The Hundred.
Babar Azam will lead a strong Pakistan side that has a battery of fast bowlers, including star quick Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah. Afridi, though, might be rested for the first two games to keep him fresh for the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE.
In fact, Babar Azam has also indicated Afridi may be used sparingly during the series, with the towering pacer recovering from the knee injury that forced him to miss the second Test against Sri Lanka and with the Asia Cup on the horizon later this month.
"We're looking long term at his fitness and health," Babar said recently of Afridi. "We want him to play a game against Netherlands if he's fit and be ready for the Asia Cup."
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Musa Ahmad, Shariz Ahmad, Wesley Barresi, Logan van Beek, Tom Cooper, Aryan Dutt, Arnav Jain, Viv Kingma, Ryan Klein, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Tim Pringle, Max O'Dowd, Vikram Singh
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Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mehmood