LAHORE, Dec 3: The national selection committee, headed by Abdul Qadir, has announced five teams for the Pentangular Cup one-day cricket tournament that begins in Karachi from Dec 15.

According to the announcement made on Wednesday, maverick fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been named as captain of the Federal Areas Leopards. All-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead the Sindh Dolphins while Umar Gul has been appointed as skipper of the NWFP Panthers, which will not have the services of Younis Khan, who is playing the Sheffield Shield tournament in Australia.

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik will captain the Punjab Stallions outfit, while his deputy Misbah-ul-Haq will be in charge of Balochistan Bears.

The omission of paceman Junaid Khan and left-arm spinner Yasir Shah from the playing squad of the NWFP is surprising because both had performed well for the province that clinched the Pentangular Cup final (four-day event) recently. Both are in the list of reserves.

Moreover, Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has also been included to play for the Balochistan side in place of Sindh.

Teams:

SINDH DOLPHINS: Shahid Afridi (captain), Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif, Asif Zakir, Naumanullah, Faisal Iqbal (vice-captain), Rizwan Ahmed, Fawad Alam, Azam Hussain, Faisal Athar, Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali, Tanvir Ahmed, Fahad Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper). Reserves: Farhan Ayub, Farhan Iqbal (wicket-keeper).