February 13, 2008	Wednesday	Safar 05, 1429

LAHORE, Feb 12: Despite being one of Pakistan’s top bowlers with ranking points of 52857, medium-pacer Fahad Masood has failed to get a place in any of the five teams currently playing in the Pentangular Cup.

Fahad, 27, has played 74 first-class matches (four-day), taking 264 wickets. He has also featured in 34 domestic season one-day matches, claiming 45 wickets.

Currently playing for Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Fahad has represented various departments besides playing for Lahore since making his debut in first-class cricket in 1999. Before joining HBL, which had also played the final of the last Quaid-i-Azam Trophy against Sui Northern Gas Pipe Lines (SNGPL), he also played for the Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan and the Zarai Tarraqiati Bank Limited.

After the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy final, held in Karachi in the first week of January, the PCB’s ranking for bowlers revealed that Fahad was the top domestic bowler followed by Bilal Asad and Asad Ali. But the national selection committee, which formed five teams for the Pentangular Cup on a new pattern, omitted Fahad’s name.

“The matter is already in our notice and we are trying to resolve the case by adjusting Fahad in the Balochistan team,” Shafqat Rana, one members of the national selection committee, told Dawn when asked to comment on the omission of the deserving player.

“And even if Fahad cannot be adjusted in Balochistan, it shouldn’t mean that he won’t get any more chances. We may test his mettle in a side match against Australia,” said Shafqat.

The selection committee comprising Shafqat, Salahuddin Ahmed, and Saleem Jaffar had picked 100 players to form the five teams on a new pattern. In the past, two finalists of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy (for regional teams) and the two top of the Patron’s Trophy (for departmental) automatically qualified for the Pentangular.

But instead of picking the top five teams for the Pentangular, the PCB this season allowed both the regional and departmental teams to play together in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy while forming a typical pattern to form teams on the provincial level.