Pakistani selectors on Friday included three uncapped players in their squad for the first two one-day internationals against Zimbabwe.

The selectors rewarded left-handed opener Nasir Jamshed and pacer Samiullah Niazi for their impressive performances against Zimbabwe in a recent four-day tour match.

Jamshed scored 182 and Niazi took 5-for-42 in the match won by the Patrons eleven. The other uncapped player is all-rounder Kamran Hussain.

"The idea is to use the five one-dayers against Zimbabwe to test out new players without sacrificing the core strength of the team," chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said.

The selectors have already dropped experienced pacers Shoaib Akhtar [ Images ] and Umar Gul for the series, while Mohammad Asif [ Images ] is recovering from an elbow operation.

Akhtar and Gul have been told to prove their match fitness in domestic cricket after fitness issues on the recent tour of India [ Images ].

The first one-dayer will be played on Monday in Karachi.

Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik [ Images ] (captain), Younis Khan [ Images ], Salman Butt [ Images ], Mohammad Yousuf [ Images ], Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi [ Images ], Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir [ Images ], Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nasir Jamshed, Fawad Alam [ Images ], Rao Iftikhar, Samiullah Niazi, Kamran Hussain and Kamran Akmal.