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| November 07, 2006 | Tuesday | Shawwal 14, 1427 |
Pakistan recall Yasir Hameed for West Indies Tests
LAHORE, Nov 6: Discarded Test opener Yasir Hameed and uncapped bowlers Samiullah Niazi and Abdur Rahman were named on Monday in a 15-member Pakistan squad for the first two Tests of the three-match home series against West Indies.
A 15-member West Indies team, led by Brian Lara, arrived here from Delhi soon after chief selector Wasim Bari announced the Pakistan squad after a detailed meeting with captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and coach Bob Woolmer.The inclusion of Yasir comes at a time when Pakistan are struggling to a settled opening pair.
Although it must be said that the team management did not give proper chance to the various openers tried and tried no less than 15 different combinations over the last two years, and seven in the past three series – against India, Sri Lanka and England.
Yasir will be the eighth opener to be tested against the West Indies in almost 10 months.
In the last three series, Imran Farhat, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Taufiq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez had been used in different combinations both in Tests and ODIs.
Yasir, 28, last played against West Indies, in June 2005.
Left-arm pacer Samiullah, who toured England last summer, gets a chance chiefly because of the absence of key fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who have been banned for using drugs.
Samiullah also impressed the selectors by taking nine wickets in the first round match of the Patron's Trophy while representing Sui Gas against Wapda.
Slow left-armer Abdur Rahman has been included to bolster the spin department after touring Sri Lanka in April and the Champions Trophy in India.
“We have different options for the series against West Indies but after a lot of discussion we decided to go for continuity and finalised a 15-member team for the first two Test with the consent of the team management,” Bari told at a press conference on Monday.
“The selectors also considered Salman Butt and Mohammad Sami but their performance on England tour was not satisfactory and we decided to give them more time to regain their form,” Bari said.
Asked on which performance Yasir had been recalled, Bari failed to explain but said Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez were first-choice opening pair because they each scored in the 90s during the controversial Test against England at The Oval.
He said all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were left out due to unimpressive performance in Tests.
"Shahid’s performance lacked consistency in the last couple of series while the selectors observed that Rana Naved has not been bowling accurately. So they have been dropped,” Bari said.
“But it does not mean they have no chance of staging a comeback. They will be definitely considered if they perform in the domestic season,” he said.
When asked why Asim Kamal, who will Patron's XI in the two-day match against West Indies from Wednesday, the chief selector said the left-hander was left out because of the policy of continuity.“Faisal Iqbal showed good form in England after having scored a match-winning century against India at Karachi. We thought it best to retain Faisal,” he said.
"No doubt Asim has a good average in Test cricket and he is still very much in contention which is why he’s been given a chance to show his form in the two-day match,” he stressed.
Bari said Pakistan’s pace attack of Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir, Samiullah and Abdul Razzaq has the ability to bowl out West Indies twice.
“In the given circumstances, it is the best available choice after both Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif became ineligible,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that inclusion of spinners – Danish Kaneria and Abdur Rehman –and the lack of experience in the pace attack indicated that Pakistan will prepare batsmen-friendly pitches for the series.
Squad: Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Faisal Iqbal, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Danish Kaneria, Umar Gul, Samiullah Niazi, Shahid Nazir, Abdur Rehman.
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