LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors on Monday included controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and two rookies Mohammad Aamer and Shahzaib Hasan in a 15-member squad named for ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be held in England in June this year. Akhtar’s inclusion came as a surprise after his pathetic performance in the recently concluded five-match one-day international series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Australia, under Micheal Clarke, won the series 3-2.
Akhtar, who is now at 59th position after dropping four places in the ICC players rankings for ODI bowlers, didn’t once bowl ten overs in the four games he played and took just three wickets. “We have kept faith in Akhtar although his performance was not up to mark in the UAE. I think picking Akhtar is a sensible thing because he is experienced and he can manage four overs in a match,” a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said. Akhtar was last year banned for five years on disciplinary charges – a punishment reduced to 18 months by an appeal committee. Akhtar was part of Pakistan’s team for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup held in South Africa in 2007 but he was expelled from the squad after he hit teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat a few days before the start of the event. Pakistan finished runners-up in the inaugural tournament, losing to India in a closely contested final. Akhtar played just four Twenty20 matches last year due to fitness problems.
Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who has been reported for a suspect action, is in the squad but there was no place for the three Indian Cricket League (ICL) players – Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq and Rana Navedul Hasan – who were initially picked in the list of probables. “The selectors have considered only those players who were eligible to play for Pakistan. Since the board has got information of only Mohammad Yousaf resigning from the ICL, no other ICL player was considered for selection,” the official added.
He pointed out the board had made it clear that players would have to resign from the ICL first before becoming eligible for consideration in the national team. The board announced recently that any ICL player could be considered for national selection once he resigns from the rebel league. But the PCB had also made it clear it would decide on case-to-case basis what penalty to impose on the ICL player before he could play for the national team again. Asked about the selection of Ajmal whose bowling action was reported during the one-day series against Australia, the selector said he (Ajmal) would be undergoing a review of his action soon and if the ICC bowling action review committee didn’t clear him in time, a replacement would be named. The selectors have packed the team with five noted all-rounders – Fawad Alam, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat. Pacer Rao Iftikhar Anjum, even though has been one of Pakistan’s leading ODI bowlers over the last two years in the one-dayers: in the last 12 months he has taken 21 wickets in 14 games. However, a wicketless showing in the two matches he played against Australia in the UAE ultimately hindered his case.
Uncapped players: Left-arm fast bowler Aamer was included after a very strong showing in his maiden domestic season, taking 56 first-class wickets in ten games for Rawalpindi. 17-year-old Aamer also took 25 wickets in 15 one-dayers and was initially included in the squad for the Bangladesh tour which was postponed. He was also a part of the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia last year but his tournament was cut short by illness. For the greater part of last year, he has been – alongside Mohammad Talha – the most talked-up pace prospect in Pakistan circles, a stamp of approval from fellow leftie Wasim Akram. Hasan, 19, is a diminutive opening batsman, and he too has enjoyed very healthy returns in his debut first-class season, scoring 607 runs in ten matches for Karachi Blues at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. In one-dayers, he has scored 250 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 96.11.
Squad:
Younis Khan (captain), Salman Butt, Ahmad Shahzad, Misbahul Haq, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal and Shahzaib Hasan.
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