March 17, 2002	Sunday	Muharram 2, 1423

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KARACHI, March 16: Former skippers Saeed Anwar and Moin Khan are the notable absentees in the 30 probables selected by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to attend the training camp commencing at the Gaddafi Stadium from March 21 to pick Pakistan team for Sharjah Cup slated to be played from April 8.

“He needs another four to five weeks to regain complete fitness and start training” chairman of selectors Wasim Bari told reporters, adding: “He remains in our World Cup plans”.

Pakistan team is expected to leave for Sharjah on April 6. Sri Lanka and New Zealand are the other two teams in the tri-nation contest in the desert city of United Arab Emirates.

“Kamran is there for encouragement. Besides, we want him to groom under the eyes of experienced players” Bari added without commenting on the continued exclusion of Moin.

Moin is fit and currently leading PIA in the on-going national one-day competition besides skippering Karachi Whites to victory in the country’s premier tournament Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

The continued ouster of Moin smells foul play as the chairman of the PCB Lt Gen Tauqir Zia had declared that the the former captain remained a candidate for 2003 World Cup.

However the PCB’s bungling selectors have included champion pacer Wasim Akram after having blundered by dropping him for the Asian Test Championship final which Pakistan lost by eight wickets.

Our Correspondent adds from Lahore: Team manager, Yawar Saeed, disclosed that opener Saeed Anwar had failed fitness test and was not considered. But to keep Moin sidelined the selector opted for rookie wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, a decision which defies logic.

Probables:

Openers:  Shahid  Khan Afridi, Imran  Farhat,  Imran  Nazir, Muhammad Ramzan, Taufiq Umer.

Middle-order: Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Yousaf  Youhana, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Yasir Hameed, Bilal Asad, Saeed  Bin Nasir, Usman Tariq.

All-rounders: Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mehmood, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Yasir Arafat, Tahir Mughal.

Fast bowlers: Waqar Younis, Muhammad Sami, Fazle Akbar, Abdul Rauf, Shoaib Akhtar.

Wicketkeepers: Rashid Latif, Kamran Akmal.

Spinners: Danish Kaneria, Saqlain Mushtaq.