As per expectations, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and struggling wicket keeper Kamran Akmal have been axed from the One-day and Twenty20 team for the upcoming tour of West Indies, while senior players-pacer Umar Gul and batsman Younis Khan have been given rest. The 29-year-old was criticised for dropping crucial catches during the World Cup, where Pakistan lost in the semi-finals to India.
-- Younis, Umar Gul given rest may be considered for Test Kamran will also lose his Test place to younger brother Adnan Akmal, part of the Test team to New Zealand earlier this year. Shahid Khan Afridi has been retained as skipper while Mohammad Salman, 29, will keep wicket in the Twenty20 and One-day matches.
Pakistan will play a Twenty20 international, five One-day games and two Tests on the month-long tour of West Indies, starting from April 18. The Test squad for this series will be announced later on. It is expected that Younis Khan will be considered for Test squad.
Pakistan cricket team will be leaving for West Indies on April 14. The tour will start with a warm-up match on April 18. The only Twenty20 match will be played on April 21 in St Lucia. The five-match ODI series will begin from April 23, while the Test leg of the tour will commence from May 12.
Chief selector Mohsin Hasan Khan told reporters that at present there is no place for Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal in the team. "We want to try out few youngsters and that's why we have picked those players who have performed outstandingly in the domestic cricket," he said. Mohammad Salman (29) has replaced Kamran Akmal who had to face criticism after a poor World Cup campaign with bat and gloves. Highly-rated Hammad Azam has been selected in place of Abdur Razzaq who had not completed his quota of 10 overs even once in the World Cup 2011 while his batting performance was not impressive.
Hammad Azam was a central figure in Pakistan's last U-19 World Cup campaign and was selected in the squad for the World T20 in the Caribbean last year, but he did not feature even in a single game. Left-hand opening batsman Taufeeq Umar, who recently worked his way back into the Test side, is another inclusion for the Twenty20 and ODI formats. Aizaz Cheema, the 31-year-old seamer has also gained birth in the squad. Usman Salahuddin, another youngster who made an impression at the Under-19 level, also got the selector's nod for the tour.
The squad is comprised of: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Taufeeq Umar, Usman Salahuddin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Salman (wicket-keeper). Reserves: Rameez Raja (Junior), Sadaf Hussain, Asif Zakir, Sohail Khan and Zulifqar Babar.
Tour programme:
-- April 18: one-day warm-up match, St Lucia
-- April 21: Twenty20 international, St Lucia
-- April 23: First one-day international, St Lucia
-- April 25: Second one-day international, St Lucia
-- April 28: Third one-day international, Barbados
-- May 1: Fourth one-day international, Barbados
-- May 5: Fifth one-day international, Guyana
-- May 8-9: Two-day match, Guyana
-- May 12-16: First Test, Guyana
-- May 20-24: Second Test, St Kitts
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