March 2, 2006	Thursday	Safar 1, 1427

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LAHORE, March 1: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday invited 24 probables to assemble at the Qadhafi Stadium next week for a conditioning camp before a 16-member squad is picked for this month’s tour of Sri Lanka.

Three members of the Pakistan Under-19 World Cup-winning team have also been asked to report at the camp.

The camp starts on March 8 while the squad will be announced two days later.

As expected the selectors have called up uncapped pacemen Mohammad Irshad and Sarfraz Ahmed, off-spinner Tahir Khan, slow left-armer Abdul Rahman and batsman Riffatullah Mohmand.

But all-rounder Yasir Arafat has not been invited despite playing in a couple of matches in the one-day series against England and India this season.

Apart from Yasir, the left-handed opener Taufiq Umar failed to get a call-up after performing outstandingly in the Patron’s Cup. He was declared the tournament’s best batsman.

Shoaib Akhtar has been already ruled out of Sri Lanka tour because of injuries and reportedly underwent surgery in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The under-19 players who have been especially invited to attend the camp are pace trio of Anwar Ali, Jamshed Ahmed and Akhtar Ayub.

Pakistan will play two Tests and three ODIs during the 27-day Sri Lankan trip.

Probables: Inzamamul Haq, Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Faisal Iqbal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rana Navedul Hasan, Muhammad Sami, Rao Iftikhar, Bazid Khan, Riffatullah Mohmand, Mohammad Irshad, Abdur Rahman, Tahir Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Arshad Khan, Asim Kamal.