Mohammad Amir left out of Pakistan's preliminary WC squad

Mohammad Amir, the pace bowler, has been left out of Pakistan's preliminary 15-member squad for the upcoming World Cup, chief-selector Inzamam-ul-Haq announced on Thursday.

However, he has been included in the ODI and T20I series against England, which will be played in the month of May.

Amir starred in the Champions Trophy final in 2017, in which he was awarded the Man of the Match, but since then he went wicketless in nine out of 14 ODIs played since then.

The team that has been picked for the upcoming World Cup, includes 11 players from the side that won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England and Wales.

Players retained from the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 winning party include Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, and Shoaib Malik.

The World Cup team will be led by Sarfaraz Ahmed.

"While picking the side, we've tried to cover all bases by assessing our strengths as well as analysing each opponent, the match venues and the event format," chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said during the announcement of the squad.

"In Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Junaid Khan, and Mohammad Hasnain, Pakistan has probably the most attacking and lethal bowling unit, which has variation and variety to take wickets and keep the opponents under pressure," he added.

The team also announced squads for the ODI and T20I series against England.

Pakistan's 15-member squad for the World Cup: Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk, c), Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik.

Pakistan's 17-member squad for the ODI and T20I series against England: Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk, c), Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali.

Pakistan takes on England in a one-off T20I and five-match ODI series beginning from May 5.

The team will play against Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the warm-up matches before the World Cup on May 24 and 26.

Pakistan faces West Indies in their opening match of the World Cup on May 31.