Veterans Akmal, Yousuf and Malik axed as Pakistan announces squad for the New Zealand tour
PCB’s selection committee surprised the cricket world when it excluded a number of senior players for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. Kamran Akmal was the major casualty of the recent selection alongside former captain Shoaib
Malik. Both of these players were axed as the selection committee announced teams for the T20 and Test formats. Prolific batsman Mohammad Yousuf was once again snubbed by the PCB as he was also not selected for the forthcoming tour.
Yousuf’s exclusion can literally be seen as PCB’s intention to end the veteran’s international career. On the other hand, Kamran and Malik were allegedly not given clearance by the newly established PCB’s integrity committee. However,
the PCB failed to give any reason behind the committee’s decision. Commenting on it, chief selector http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319 said, “We discussed a vast pool of players but these two were not given clearance by the board.”
Both Kamran and Malik have been out of the national side since the disastrous tour of England this summer. Malik was dropped for UAE series due to his poor form whereas wicket-keeper Kamran’s barring has been under the clouds of
confusion. Kamran was ruled out for the T20s and ODIs against South Africa due to his appendicitis operation. But his exclusion for the Test series in the same tour against the Proteas is still an enigma. Analysts have suspected his links with the infamous
spot-fixing controversy as the main reason behind his exit. His role in the spot-fixing scandal has been ubiquitous despite receiving the written clearance from the ICC. Meanwhile, he has been scoring heavily on the domestic circuit. Adnan, Kamran’s brother
and youngest of the Akmals, has retained his place as national team’s wicketkeeper since replacing controversial Zulqarnain Haider during the UAE tour.
Veteran Yousuf’s future looks unpromising after the latest snub. He was unlikely to find his place in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s World Cup plans since coming out of the premature international retirement. The recent blow is nothing more than the
last nail in the coffin of his career. Earlier, he missed the South African series due to a groin injury. Commenting on Yousuf, Mohsin Khan said, “The injury is not an issue. Yousuf is a great player we all know that, but we are concerned over his fitness
levels and so have not picked him.” Yousuf’s performance with the bat has also been dodgy as in the last three years (in which he played 13 Tests) he averaged a nominal 35 with a single century. Selectors had number of options in place of Yousuf with the emergence
of new talents in the form of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq and the return of Younis Khan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972.
Imran Farhat and paceman Mohammad Sami are also out of the team after they failed to impress in the recently concluded Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. Ahmed Shehzad returns to the side in the ODIs to open the innings with Mohammad
Hafeez. The duo of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman will be responsible for the spin department in the upcoming tour. Abdur Rehman gave an all-round performance against the South Africans as he impressed with the ball as well as the bat. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Danish-Kaneria-c1314 was once
again shown a cold shoulder by the selectors, apparently for his alleged involvement in the match-fixing controversy during his stay with the English county http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Essex-c783. Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Riaz will be responsible for fast bowling whereas
Shoaib Akhtar will also be available for the T20s.
This will be Pakistan’s final tour before the World Cup next year. This tour will feature three Twenty20s, two Tests and six 50-over games. Commenting on it, Mohsin Khan said, “We are trying to get the best preparation for the
World Cup. Though http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 will always be tough opposition, we must keep the World Cup in mind throughout.”
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