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| December 09, 2006 | Saturday | Ziqa'ad 17, 1427 |
Yousuf returns, Younis to miss Lahore ODI: Selectors name unchanged 15-member squad
LAHORE, Dec 8: The return of in-form Mohammad Yousuf boosted Pakistan hopes for the third One-day International against the West Indies, scheduled to be played here tomorrow, as the national selection committee named an unchanged 15-member squad for the match on Friday.
Yousuf missed the second ODI at Faisalabad on Thursday due to his wife’s illness but media coordinator Col. Naushad Ali said the prolific middle-order batsman had confirmed his availability for the third ODI.
Vice captain Younis Khan’s absence due to a tragedy in family, however, will hurt the hosts in Lahore game. Younis was forced to rush home during the second ODI after receiving the shocking news of his elder brother's demise in Germany. “He (Younis) would definitely miss the third game and possibly the remaining two matches at Multan and Karachi as well,” said Naushad.
By retaining the 15-member squad, the selectors have once again snubbed all-rounder Shahid Afridi besides leaving exonerated fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif quite puzzled about their role in the current series.
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, however, said on Friday that both Shoaib and Asif would not be included for the on-going ODI series since the two had been away from international cricket for almost three months and were still quite rusty to stage a comeback.
The Pakistan team held a long practice session here on Friday while the West Indies preferred to relax at the team hotel. "We will have a practice session on Saturday afternoon but today (Friday) is a rest day for the players," WI media manager Imran Khan told Dawn.
When asked whether experienced batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who missed the second ODI due to a knee strain, will be taking the field on Sunday, Imran said he was not sure about the complete fitness of the player as yet. "The physio is treating Chanderpaul but his match-fitness is not yet confirmed. We’ll wait on it till the morning of the third match," he said.
Imran, however, added that the rest of the West Indies players were fit and geared up for the game. “There are no injury problem with any other player of the team.”
Reuters adds: Pakistan skipper, Inzamam-ul-Haq was not certain if Yousuf would be able to play since he may have to stay with his pregnant wife.
“Younis is unlikely to play and we have to see the position with Yousuf,” he said.
Inzamam expressed satisfaction with left arm spinner Abdul Rehman's debut after he took two for 20 and featured in a vital partnership with his captain in the low scoring second match.
“Rehman is a seasoned performer as he has played a lot of cricket. I expect him to improve and gain in confidence as he gets more experience of playing international cricket,” said Inzamam, who scored a match-winning 42 as Pakistan completed victory with 10 balls to spare.
Rehman is the first left arm spinner to play in an ODI for Pakistan since 1998.
Inzamam said he was looking for his batsmen to put more runs on the board in the third game.
West Indies skipper Brian Lara expected his team to come out stronger on Sunday and score more runs.
“I am happy they showed a lot of commitment to defend just 151 runs. Which is a positive for us,” he said.
Pakistan squad:
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Capt), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Rao Iftikhar, Rana Naved, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman.
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