SPORTS Thursday, 4 June, 2015
Pakistan announces revamPed squad for sL tests
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SPOrTS DESK hmEd Shehzad, Shan masood and Ehsan Adil have been included in Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the Test series in Sri Lanka in June.
Offspinner Saeed Ajmal, who was part of the squad in the two-Test series against Bangladesh, was left out because of his lack of impact with the remodelled bowling action. Ajmal picked up a solitary wicket in the tour game before the start of Bangladesh Tests, but couldn’t make it to the Test XI with Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah pipping him for spinners’ spots. he played two OdIs and one T20 on the tour, but managed just one more wicket. Babar Azam, Bilawal Bhatti, Sami Aslam were also excluded, while Rahat Ali, Sohaib maqsood and Sohail Khan continued to be unavailable due to their respective injuries.
Shehzad was dropped from both Test and OdI squads after the 2015 World Cup on disciplinary grounds. he was recalled for the Zimbabwe OdIs but remained on the bench throughout the three-match series. Shehzad is one of three openers - mohammad hafeez and masood, being the other two - in the squad. Interestingly, the selectors said they had considered the performance of Pakistan A players on their tour to Sri Lanka recently but both Umar Amin, the top-scorer in longer format, and Fawad Alam, leading run-getter in the limited-over games, were ignored. For Aslam, his 47 runs from three innings in Bangladesh, went against him. “While selecting the squad, the selection committee considered the following key areas: suitability to play in varied playing conditions, potential to perform at international level, current form and fitness, performance in the previous tours of Bangladesh and recently concluded Pak-
istan A team’s tour of Sri Lanka, and feedback from the team management on the performance of players on Bangladesh tour,” PCB chief selector haroon Rashid said. “Fawad Alam, Sami Aslam and some other players were also under consideration but could not be included but they remain on the selectors radar. Rahat Ali (hamstring), Sohail Khan (back) and Sohaib maqsood (wrist) are still on rehab after sustaining injuries and it is hoped that they would be available for selection in the near future. Selection committee has also kept its options open in case of need for the 16th member keeping in mind the extreme weather conditions in Sri Lanka.” Pakistan squad: mohammad hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Shan masood, Azhar Ali (vc), misbahul-haq (capt), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Imran Khan, Ehsan Adil.
ICC President nominee Zaheer Abbas vows to bring more cricket to Pakistan Karachi AGENCIES
Nominated as Pakistan’s candidate for the post of ICC President, former Test captain Zaheer Abbas says he will strive to get more international teams to play in his country. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday nominated Abbas as their nominee after former Chairman Najam Sethi withdrew from the position. Sethi, who now heads the PCB Executive Committee, was scheduled to take over as ICC President this month for a 12-month term but withdrew as world governing body said it was
seeking distinguished ex-cricketers for the job. The ICC will appoint the new President at its next board meeting to be held in Barbados later this month. “I am honoured that the PCB has entrusted me this responsibility and I look forward to representing Pakistan in the ICC. I will use my position to talk to the other boards and the top officials in the ICC to convince them to support Pakistan in revival of international cricket in Pakistan after the successful tour by the Zimbabwean team,” Abbas told PTI. Abbas, 67, earned the sobriquet of “Asian Bradman” for his run-making feats as he scored 108 centuries in his first class career and also rep-
resented Pakistan in 78 Tests and 62 one-day internationals. Abbas, who last year was a member of the PCB’s management committee and also became consultant of the Pakistan team for a short while, said he wanted to be linked to cricket in whatever position. “Though it is an honorary position but what is important is that the PCB has picked a former player for their nomination. It is a great way to pay tribute to the services of former players,” he said. Zaheer said he was impressed by the decision taken by Najam Sethi to step down for the post of ICC President after being nominated by the PCB.
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.
CMYK
DO NOT KEEP CRICKET AWAY FROM PAKISTAN: AKRAM Dubai: Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram said no one can keep cricket away from Pakistan. Akram, who is here as an icon player for the Masters Champions League (MCL) to be held in February next year, said he hoped international teams would begin touring Pakistan after the recent series against Zimbabwe. Answering to a query whether the blast that killed two people including a policeman during the second One Day international against Zimbabwe in Lahore would spell the death knell for other international teams visiting Pakistan, Akram said: “I only hope that it will not prevent teams from visiting Pakistan. Everything went smoothly apart for that one incident and that too it is not concrete and nobody knows what really happened in that particular incident. “It should be noted that all the five games against Zimbabwe were packed though it was 48 degrees hot. People were queuing up three to four hours before the game and the whole country watched every ball. This is the passion we have in Pakistan for the game and we cannot keep away cricket from Pakistan. “This is the first step that has been taken by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to bring back cricket to Pakistan and so well done to PCB and thanks to Zimbabwe,” he said. When asked which past player he would have loved to see in action, especially in Twenty20 format, Akram said: “There are a lot of players who retired before this format. If I have to watch any bowler bowling in Twenty20 I will pick Australia’s Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. It is indeed great to imagine Thommo running in to bowl at WACA in a Twenty20 match. AGENCIES