The series, originally scheduled for September 2020, had to be postponed by almost two years due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, Pakistan have sent a full squad, with Hasan Ali being the only notable absence. An interesting – even surprising – pick was Shaheen Shah Afridi, who recently injured his knee.

Since the 2019 World Cup, Pakistan have played 17 ODIs and lost only five, three of which came in a single series in England last year. That remains the only series they have lost over this period. They beat Sri Lanka 2-0 and Zimbabwe 2-0 at home and South Africa 2-1 at their den before winning 2-1 against Australia and 3-0 against the West Indies, at home.

In Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, and Babar Azam, Pakistan boast of one of the most formidable top threes in the world. Even if Afridi does not play every match, Naseem Shah and Shahnawaz Dahani make an excellent new-ball pair. They also bat very deep.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, have lost 13 matches on the trot, 10 of which have been at home. This year, they were swept 0-3 by Afghanistan in Qatar before they lost 0-3 in New Zealand and 0-3 to both West Indies and a second-string England at home. If they want to make a match of this, the likes of Scott Edwards, Fred Klaassen, Logan van Beek, and Max O’Dowd have to step up.

NED vs PAK ODI 2022: Full team list and squad

Netherlands: (to be announced)

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Haris (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Imam-ul-Haq, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Agha Salman, Abdullah Shafique, Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman.

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