pakistan cricket, pakistan in south africa, south africa vs pakistan
-File photo

LAHORE: The national selection committee will announce the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy after holding a two-day meeting here on Monday and Tuesday.

The committee headed by former Test left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim will choose the team from a list of 30 probables submitted to the ICC on March 30.

The eight-nation Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in England from June 6 to 23.

However, the selection committee will be worrying as the best performers of the recently concluded President’s Cup one-day tournament are not included in the 30-member list.

Sohaib Maqsood (427) and Riffatullah Mohmand (425), Khurram Manzoor (349) and Sharjeel Khan (279) are not part of the probables’ list. Whereas Azhar Ali (356), Asad Shafiq (279), Misbah-ul-Haq (256), Kamran Akmal (249), and Umar Amin (218), who also did well with the bat in the President’s Cup, are included in the list.

And though the likes of Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi already on the probalbes’ list, yet they could not come up to the expectations in batting during the President’s Cup.

Seasoned campaigner Younis Khan, not named in the Champions Trophy probables’ list, also could not score productively in the President’s Cup scoring just 163 runs with one century.

In the bowling department, Test paceman Umar Gul, due to a knee injury is already out of contention.

However, there are some talented bowlers available like Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan along with promising fast bowlers like Asad Ali and Ehsan Adil, who can stabilise this department as they all fared impressively in the President’s Cup.

After the selection of final 15, a national training camp will be held in Abbottabad from May 3.

Probables: Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Ahmed Shehzad, Misbah-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Sohail Tanvir, Hammad Azam, Azhar Ali, Shahid Afridi, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Imran Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan.

Opinion

Editorial

Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...
Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.