September 27, 2007	Thursday	Ramazan 14, 1428

LAHORE, Sept 26: All-rounder Shahid Afridi has made a request to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to consider him for selection in the two-Test home series against South Africa, starting in Karachi from Oct 1.

Afridi’s request has compounded the selection problems for the South Africa series since middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar are already doubtful for the Test matches due to contrasting reasons.

When contacted, chief selector Salahuddin Ahmad neither deny nor admitted that Afridi had made such a request.

Sources, however, told Dawn that Afridi was not keen on playing during the month of Ramazan since he had experienced some physical disorder in the Twenty20 World Championship matches due to fasting.

Meanwhile, Yousuf’s availability for the series will be confirmed after his meeting with the PCB Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf on Thursday (today). Sources said the chances of Yousuf changing his decision on the ICL affiliation were remote since no clause in the central contract bound him to do the same.

The national selection committee is also likely to consider Faisal Iqbal, Yasir Hameed, Asim Kamal and medium-pacer Sohail Tanvir for the Test series against South Africa, said the sources.