Afridi, Umar Akmal back as Pakistan announce squad for West Indies

E-Paper | May 25, 2026

LAHORE: Pakistan Wednesday axed former captain Shoaib Malik, wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and opener Imran Farhat for this month's limited-overs series in the West Indies, but dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi was back in the team.

Selectors made four changes in the one-day team which crashed out of last month's eight-nation Champions Trophy in England, losing all three games due to sloppy batting.

Malik managed just 25 runs in three matches, Kamran scored 23 in the same number and Farhat scored four in two. Pakistan failed to cross the 170-mark in any of their games.

They will play five one-day and two Twenty20 internationals in the Caribbean, with the first one-day match in Guyana on July 14.

Misbah-ul Haq will lead the one-day team while Mohammad Hafeez will skipper the Twenty20 side.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim said the 16-man one-day and 15-member T20 squads were selected after discussion with the team management.

“We have selected separate squads after consultation with Misbah and coach Dav Whatmore and we hope that it will do well,” said Qasim.

Afridi was dropped from the one-day squad twice in the last six months after he failed to impress with both bat and ball, but Qasim said the all-rounder had been given one more chance.

He was first discarded for the one-day leg of the India tour in January before making a comeback on the South Africa tour, but was left out again for the Trophy.

“We have selected Afridi as per the requirement for the West Indies tour where we need a leg-spinner and he is one of the physically fittest players,” said Qasim of the 33-year-old.

Misbah accepted responsibility for the failure in the Champions Trophy.

“I have accepted defeats before and I take responsibility for defeat now,” he said.

“We have selected a blend of youth and experience with a few players in mind for the 2015 World Cup.”

Afridi has not taken a single wicket in his last six one-day matches.

Also back in the one-day team is Kamran's younger brother Umar who will also keep wicket. Uncapped Mohammad Rizwan, 21, is the other keeper in the team.

Opener Ahmed Shahzad also staged a comeback after being left out two years ago.

Paceman Umar Gul remains sidelined after undergoing knee surgery in May.

Squad (one-day): Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman

Squad (Twenty20): Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shahzad, Nasir Jamshed, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Haris Sohail, Hammad Azam, Sohail Tanveer, Wahab Riaz, Asad Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Umar Amin, Saeed Ajmal and Zulfiqar Babar.

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observer

Jul 03, 2013 05:17pm

The team is simply based on biased approach, really a punjab eleven not pakistan eleven.

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zahid

Jul 03, 2013 05:38pm

15 days ago Shahid Afraidi was DROPED because of BAD performance. After 15 days Shahid Afradi was selected. This is a Joke. What did shahid afradi do in 15 days? Answer is nothing. .... Shame on SELECTION COMMITTEE..........

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Aftab Kenneth Wilson

Jul 03, 2013 05:48pm

They again left Abdul Razzak out of both one day and T-20. I think he is among the best all rounder available now and still fit. Good news is about Umer Akmal who has been included in the team as wicket keeper/batsman.

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Jul 03, 2013 05:54pm

Why Fawad Alam and Abdul Razzaq are being neglected while Umar Amin and Sohail tanveer are being prefered?? AbulRazzaq is much better than Sohail Tanveer, Afridi and Hammad Azzam. Personal likings are ruining pakistan cricket.

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Jul 03, 2013 06:03pm

They MUST play the youngesters in the playing eleven.

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The Doctor

Jul 03, 2013 06:01pm

Glad to see the veterans back on the team. Pakistan suffered in England without these two. Very happy to see cricket back in Guyana too.

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Javed

Jul 03, 2013 06:07pm

Please get rid off shoaib malik. Useless

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Shahid

Jul 03, 2013 06:04pm

Is Misbah going to play Ahmad Shehzad, Haris Sohail and Umar Akmal in all the matches? He must, it is what counts. Play Hafeez at 6 as he should be ready to play at 6 in the worldcup.

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Shahzad

Jul 03, 2013 06:07pm

wait to see Afridi, U akmal, and AHmed shazad to flop and then we will get back kamran, Shoib, AND Imran farhat, and the circle of failure players will continue to the next episode.

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Nura

Jul 03, 2013 06:11pm

Let Umar Akmal play his natural game, don't try to make him a new Misbah. Play Haris Sohail in all the matches. Umar Amin has not performed in 10 matches now, why is Fawad not being prefered here. Is Sohail Tanveer better than Abdul Razzaq??

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Nura

Jul 03, 2013 06:15pm

Umar Akmal and Haris Sohail must be played in all the ODIs. Don't just destroy them by playing them mainly in the T20s where they only have to hit out every ball. Let them organize them their game in a longer version.

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Shahid

Jul 03, 2013 06:18pm

Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal are out, Horrrrrrrrray!

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Kashif_habib62@yahoo.com

Jul 03, 2013 06:55pm

Why pakistan retrying again and again flop. . Why not going in a search new talent. . I m afraid if there lack of talent in our country. . . Why v r not able to produce high yield batsmens. . . And our selection always prefer old flop. . And give prefer to punjab. . Neglect sindh, balochistan and khyber. Is there just 1 province in pak? Is pcb stands for punjab cricket board? If there no merit there wl b lose lose and lose? So b serious

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shake G

Jul 03, 2013 07:31pm

Big mistake to put afridi back...he is lost cause...also need to revamp the whole PCB including selectors and players...so far they are all incapable to do anything...

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Junaid

Jul 03, 2013 08:07pm

All eleven players in the team should have the capacity to make 50 runs in every game.The top 6 in the order should should bat with a century in mind in every game. Coach's job should be to prepare the team for this standard, mentaly and physicaly.

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pakfan

Jul 03, 2013 08:08pm

If playing Umar Akmal, play him as a batsman not as a batsman/wktkeeper. He is a complete batsman. He should not be used as a UTILITY PLAYER. Mohammad Rizwan should be the WICKET KEEPER.

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Salman

Jul 03, 2013 08:10pm

Good move to use U Akmal as a keeper until we find a good wicket keeper batsman. India used Dravid to good affect some 10 years ago and SA turned to AB after Boucher. This would give depth to our batting and much needed aggression. Overall a good squad. I hope youngsters like Shahzad, Shafiq and Umar are given a consistent run. All the best!

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aishah

Jul 03, 2013 08:55pm

Now this is what we call one solid team

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Concerned citizen

Jul 03, 2013 09:13pm

Please refrain using "dashing all rounder tag" on Afridi's name. He should have been left alone to stay home. This guy popes a rabbit out of his cap in a blue moon (just like a magician) scoring half century in 2 years. Then he is good to go for next 2 years and helps opponents fielders @ long on and long off for their fielding practice. He has been celebrating his 26th birthday for the last 10 years.It is shocking that some of the fans still have wishful thinking for his talent. It only happens in Pakistan that a captain is booted out of the team as a player and next time he is again nominated as captain. We expected him to lead Pakistan, may be the selectors forgot to keep up to their tradition.

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Asif

Jul 03, 2013 09:17pm

This is a decent team but not perfect. I am surprised Asad Shafiq is not in T20. I am surprised that Fawad Alam, Anwar Ali were not picked. Umar Amen is not a great talent and he should not have picked. I am sure parchee system is still working. I am so glad to see Malik, Farhat and Kamran are gone and I hope they stay gone. My biggest worry is that the new talent just going for a nice ride since none of them will get a chance to play as always. I just hope that Misbah use his brain instead of buddy system to select the best 11 players.

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Syed W. Ali

Jul 03, 2013 09:13pm

When will the nation say enough is enough? When will the nation ask of Ilyas Syed and Imran Farhat to pay for the two missed years of Ahmed Shehzad, who's good performance on the New Zealand was rewarded with an axe by PCB to make room for Imran Farhat? Only in Pakistan would you see this persist.

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SKhan

Jul 03, 2013 09:46pm

Once again, injustice with the cricketers of Karachi continues. Fawad Alam, Khurram Manzoor and Sarfaraz should accept the fact that they would never be able to make it unless this cruel and biased selection policies are being followed. Can someone explain what wonders Umar Akmal has done since his omission from team? What Ahmed Shahzad has done to make yet another comeback? Although, I like what I saw of Haris Sohail but still the question is what Haris Sohail and Umar Amin offer which Fawad Alam cannot offer? How come Ehsan Adil has been dumped without getting a fair chance? If this is the kind of selection job Mr Qasim is doing, he should better sit in retiring lounge with Bari, another destroyer of talent. To be honest with ourselves, we need one of Afridi/Razzak/Malik despite their expiry dates. Malik has been given chances and he fluffed it. Afridi must focus on his fitness and form rather than be in the headlines every other day and must learn that we do not necessarily need a poster boy. While Razzak bowling has gone downhill, his batting if he is utilised properly can still save Pakistan from shambolic disintegration we saw in Champions Trophy. One Akmal goes, another one comes in, Why is this obsession with Akmal brothers? Now Rizwan will be a backup to Umar Akmal, wait and see the number of chances Umar will fluff to prove he is one of Akmals.

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Aamir

Jul 03, 2013 09:44pm

Why Sohail Tanvir?? A Big Parchi ...

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salmanuddin

Jul 03, 2013 09:46pm

The team announced by the pcb is very good

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salmanuddin

Jul 03, 2013 09:51pm

the team announced by the pcb is very good

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Ali

Jul 03, 2013 09:54pm

The Akmal brothers continue to rotate. Glad Shuaib and Farhat are out-hope forever.

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Saeed

Jul 03, 2013 10:15pm

2 Months Later -> Pakistan drop out of form Afridi, unreliable Umar as Pakistan crashes to West Indies. Former Captain Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat are back in the team with impressive domestic performances! That's how the circle goes in Pakistan, instead of actually trying to field youngsters, the board clings to the same failures and just keeps on replacing the failures with other failures. They all make a comeback every 2 months and get to play for 3-6 months! How the board just keeps playing with us!

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Dawar Naqvi

Jul 03, 2013 10:25pm

Why Not Fawad Alam, Khurrum Manzoor, Anwar Ali, Shahzeb Hasan and Khalid Latif? They all have better records and ability than many chosen players. Any reason they are out again? http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/40250.html

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Deepak Lokare

Jul 03, 2013 10:42pm

I am very happy to see my favourite Shahid Afridi back in team. I wish him luck and lots of love from Mumbai, India..... your True fan from India. Deepak Lokare.

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usman

Jul 03, 2013 11:32pm

I am very disappointed with selectors for not preparing the team for WC2015. The biggest selection for WC is Captain and they kept Misbah as the Captain rather than making somebody who would have taken the team till WC. This shows how brain dead Iqbal Qasim and his fellow selectors are that they are hoping that a 42 plus year old will be around till 2015. Champion trophy defeat is completely on Misbah's defensive approach and it was reflected in his comment about young players are not fit enough. He selected Malik, Kamran and Farhat in the champions trophy. Of course his stats are going to be best if he will surround himself with below par players. I am pretty sure we will not have very good outcome in West Indies because of Misbah as Captain. He is already boxing Afridi in number 7 slot and is not an out of box thinker who can change his mind set based on the situation of the game. Mr. Iqbal Qasim and other selectors - shame on you all for not planning for the future and taking some bold decision. You are going to make Hafiz the captain in Zimbabwe tour just to make him look good but that guy is not good. You should have made Younis the captain of ODI and Test teams but you are not bold enough to take that decision. Shame on all of you.

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aftab

Jul 04, 2013 12:06am

Let's hope Afridi will not think before hitting.

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Afif Naeem

Jul 04, 2013 01:02am

"Afridi has not taken a single wicket in his last six one-day matches." He will not take a single wicket on the tour either.

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kamakazi

Jul 04, 2013 01:21am

Not a single new blood from karachi, why ? Inspite of doing well on the national level why Fawad Alam 's name not there ???

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Syed

Jul 04, 2013 01:30am

Merry go round and round.

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Karachi Wala

Jul 04, 2013 02:08am

Those who are dropped ok by me but, selecting Shahid Afridi means, that in Pakistan there is a serious shourtage of talent.

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Ahmer

Jul 04, 2013 03:30am

Afridi is well past his prime and will flop badly.

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Osama

Jul 04, 2013 05:00am

It is frustrating not to see Fawad Alam's name in the ODI team, since he is the best batsman on the domestic circuit, with a decent ODI record. Although Alam is not a big hitter, he can certainly nudge the ball into the gaps and rotate the strike, something which other Pakistani batsmen struggle to do in limited overs cricket, besides being similar in style to the West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul. In addition, Sohaib Maqsood and Raza Hasan should have been in both the squads, while it is hard to swallow the induction of Sohail Tanvir and Umar Amin in the T20 squad, since Tanvir is a mediocre bowler at best and Amin is an over-rated batsman who is not suited to the shortest format of the game.

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Sultan

Jul 04, 2013 06:25am

Just wait and see, Shoaib Malik, Akmal and Farhat, all of them will be back again. This is what is going on for a decade now. How come Afridi who had not performed in batting or bowling for about two years and got dropped, is good again to be selected. Why are they biased against Fawad Alam and Abdul Razzaq? Why does Umar Amin gets selected even when his performances in over all first class and in about 10 internationals been below standards while likes of Usman Sallahuddin, Fawad and some others are never get a chances despite performing better then even the established internationals? And yes, where is Umar Gul?

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Saima

Jul 04, 2013 06:37am

There are two things which will tell the fairness on team managements part: (1) Will they let this be a series of the new talent and let them play all the matches (2) Do not destroy youngesters by introducing them only in T20 where they can't show their talent by building an innings. I'll wish that even Hafeez and Misbah should sit out in some of the matches to accomodate Haris Sohail. Don't be afraid of defeats as long as we plan to test our young talent.

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Rahul

Jul 04, 2013 06:39am

I would love to see these playing as a ODI team: Ahmad Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, M.Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Haris Sohail, Misbah, Afridi, Junaid, Irfan, Said Ajmal.

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RKhan

Jul 04, 2013 07:23am

Shahid A. is below Average performer, his days are over. I consider him on the Senior Citizen list along with Misbah, he will be a total failure again you

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Saim

Jul 04, 2013 08:14am

Bad move. Very bad move No reason for afridi to be Back he did not take a single wicket in the last six odi matches how much worst can one do and in addition he has scored one fifty in the last 15 or so matches Qasim should be sacked he is a complete failure

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Austinite

Jul 04, 2013 08:18am

Seriously, not selecting Fawad Alam, the best domestic player right now, completely makes sense

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kamran

Jul 04, 2013 09:45am

WICKET KEEPING is very critical in ODI. We cannot afford drop and stumping chances in a 50 over match, so RIZWAN should be played as wicket keeper. Umar Akmal is the most talented batsman we have. He should only concentrate on batting and play at number 3. Any drop catches/stumping will impact his batting also. I thought we are REBUILDING team for 2015 WORLDCUP......

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Shaikh

Jul 04, 2013 11:05am

WHAT? No players from PUNJAB? just kidding!

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Faraz

Jul 04, 2013 11:03am

This is ridiculous, there is no accountability !! just admit your guilt, inability and flaws and you will remain Pakistan captain, way to go Misbah and selectors! In further attempts to stifle talent, Anwar Ali has been conveniently forgotten yet again while is Umar Amin gets a nod even after his failure from CT2013 The way I see it, the T20 and ODI Captaincy should be united under Afridi - Misbah has gone way past his twilight...he is welcome in Tests and not as a captain. Hafeez!! are you kidding me?! he is being groomed to be captain - even a hairdresser would suit captaincy better than Hafeez so please stop this nonsense. Afridi is captain till 2015 WorldCup, get Asad Shafiq or Umar Akmal ready and give VC roles from now.

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raj

Jul 04, 2013 11:11am

@ Misbha has no right to say anyone's selection is good or bad as his selection also very critical being captain he never performs never leads the team under crucial circumstances like Mahender Singh Dhoni his scores comes only against weak teams and more Misbha occupies the crease more Pak team losses as he creates pressure by wasting deliveres ,he can justify selection only if he performs and win few matches as captain by his own performance....He dont have rite to interferr in selection and he is not elegible for local cricket as welll really corrupt board is projecting a weak captain who only talks big but never produce a match winning knock...

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Osman

Jul 04, 2013 01:04pm

@Shahid: Agree with Shahid... we must play Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail and M Rizwan in at least 3-4 matches to see their true potential. Selection: Overall, not a bad selection. Just a couple of views though: ODI: Afridi has no place in the ODI team. Fawad Alam should have been included as a middle order batsman. T20: We are a batsman short (Sohaib Maqsood or Asad Shafiq could have added stability in the middle order). Also Raza Hasan could have been a better selection than Zulfiqar Babar. Nothing against Z. Babar, but Raza is a better long term investment.

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Javid Shirazi

Jul 04, 2013 02:33pm

There we go again. The charade continues. Instead of looking to the future, Shahid Afridi is picked once more. What has he done to justify being selected? With all due respect, Mohammad Hafeez should have been dropped as well! The selectors ought to learn from Cricket Australia.

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fida sayani

Jul 04, 2013 03:14pm

Hafeez is a wrong choice as a captain. He plays with a agitated mind and is nervous at batting number one position. He has shown negative attitude towards other team members on the field. He is a total failure as a batsman. I am surprise that he is even in the team.

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Osman

Jul 04, 2013 04:24pm

A much better team seleciton than the CT... Recommendations: 1- Must give the new guys a chance to play a few matches, including: Ahmed Shehzad; Umer Amin; Haris Sohail; and M. Rizwan. 2- ODI Team should have included Fawad Alam. 3- T20 team selected is one batsman short and too many bowlers.

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haris

Jul 04, 2013 04:50pm

@Syed W. Ali: Ahmed Shezad was dropped because of his behaviour not because of his performance.

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ailly

Jul 04, 2013 04:46pm

@SKhan: stop this non-sense brag about karachi and lahore players...............

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ailly

Jul 04, 2013 04:50pm

nice article dawn....

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N_Lodhi

Jul 04, 2013 05:42pm

@Dawar Naqvi: Khurrum Manzoor, Shahzeb Hasan and Khalid Latif, they have all been given a chance and have failed - all of them have limited ability. The first one has limited stroke play and faulty footwork, while the other ones are solely leg side heavers (and lacked confidence when they were given a chance). The only one that could be arguably be drafted in is Fawad Alam - but in who's place? May be either of Afridi or A Rehman (do we really need two spinners in addition to S Ajmal?) or may be in place of Umar Amin. But lets first give a fair enough run to Umar Amin before discarding him. Anwar Ali has no chance of making into the national team as a bowler alone. He either needs to improve as a batter or become a front line bowler. He is neither of that, even for Karachi at the moment. I think this squad is faily reasonable (barring one or two debatable inclusions/exclusions, which will always be the case) - and much better than the one for CT. These guys should be persisted till the SA series in October at least. I wish them all the best for WI series.

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Ocama

Jul 04, 2013 05:39pm

This is unjust on players such as Fawad Alam, Sohaib Maqsood and Raza Hasan. It is appalling to see Sohail Tanvir back in the side, as well as Umar Amin in the T20 team! Umar Amin is an over-rated batsman with a suspect technique against the moving ball, yet he is in both the squads although Fawad Alam is a much better option. However, it is good to see the back of Malik, Kamran and Farhat.

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N_Lodhi

Jul 04, 2013 05:48pm

@SKhan: if you check last 3/4 years stats you will be surprised to see that U Akmal has been the best ODI batter for Pakistan (s/rate + ave combination). By now he should have been the main ODI batter in this team - batting at 3 or 4, instead of being dropped because other batsmen around him failed regularly. Of the Karachi players you named, only Fawad Alam merits a consideration for national selection. Other two were given their chance and were found wanting. In particular Sarfaraz - who failed miserable in the recent SA test series (and seemed to lack any sort of confidence whatsoever).

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yawar

Jul 04, 2013 05:54pm

Shahzeb Hasan should be in the T20 squad. His talent should not be wasted. He should be groomed to take Hafeez's spot when the time comes.

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farrukh butt

Jul 04, 2013 06:06pm

i wonder if any one tells Afridi in the dressing room that he is no Don Bradman,that he can not....rather no cricketer can hit every ball for six.......he has to learn to use brain instead of trying to use muscles all the time.

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farrukh butt

Jul 04, 2013 06:07pm

@Deepak Lokare: you are being too polite with Afridi.........just look at his stats during the last couple of years and you would also not like to see him in team.

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Osman

Jul 04, 2013 06:19pm

@Osama : 100% agreement... I have been ranting this for ages...

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