January 14, 2008	Monday	Muharram 04, 1429

LAHORE, Jan 13: Pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul will miss the five-match home series against Zimbabwe, starting from Jan 21, after they were surprisingly overlooked on Sunday from a list of 21 probables for a short training camp.

The national selection committee, under the chairmanship of Salahuddin Ahmed, selected the probables to attend the four-day training camp at the Gaddafi Stadium from Tuesday.

“As per the board’s policy, Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul will have to appear in the Pentangular Cup to prove their match fitness,” the chief selector said.

“The PCB did not clear both the players, so, we cannot consider them for the selection,” he said.

“Though Shoaib Akhtar has confirmed his availability to me, I need a similar report from the PCB as we did in the case of the players banned by the board for playing in the Indian Cricket League,” Salahuddin said.

“The players selected for the four-day game against Zimbabwe at DHA were not considered for the national camp,” the chief selector further said.

As the Pentangular Cup is to start from Feb 9 and by that time the series against Zimbabwe would be over, both Shoaib and Umar are almost certain to miss the entire series.

Though Umar Gul’s omission is understandable as he missed the three Tests in India due to a back problem, Shoaib’s exclusion raises doubts, since the fast bowler had already made himself available for the series and is not on the injury list.

It is surprising that the PCB would raise doubts over the fitness of Umar and Shoaib. Looking at the example of the selected Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik, who injured his ankle during the Indian tour and just played in the one-day series and one Test there, it can even be counted as discrimination.

When contacted by Dawn Shoaib Akhtar refused to make any comment on the latest development.

“I would first like to understand each and every aspect of the decision, before making any comment,” he said.

The selectors also selected some prominent players who performed well in the recently concluded Quaid-i-Azam Trophy. Among them are Khurram Manzoor, Shadab Kabir, Salman Ahmad, Abdul Rauf, Rauf Akbar, Junaid Zia, Wahab Riaz, Anwar Ali, Tahir Khan and Saeed Ajmal. Some good performers were also selected for the four-day game against Zimbabwe, starting in Karachi from Monday.

Probables: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt, Shadab Kabir, Khurram Manzoor, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Naved Latif, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Salman, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Mansoor Amjad, Abdul Rauf, Rauf Akbar, Junaid Zia, Wahab Riaz, Anwar Ali, Tahir Khan, Saeed Ajmal.