LAHORE, April 29: Senior all-rounder Shahid Afridi and middle-order batsman Umar Akmal were the notable omissions here on Monday as the national selectors recalled young Umar Amin and fast bowler Asad Ali in the 15-member squad for the high-profile ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in England from June 6.

The team will also play a One-day International each against Scotland and Ireland prior to the start of the ICC event.

Seasoned campaigner Afridi, who has played 354 ODIs for the country bagging 348 wickets at 34.30 besides scoring 7,201 runs at 23.45, has been facing a lot of criticism for his chequered form during the past several months and finally been axed for the tough contest in England.

The national selection committee had given him a ‘last chance’ in the series against South Africa earlier this year but he failed to make an impact, either with the bat or the ball, in the five-match ODI series.

Also facing the axe is young Umar Akmal who, despite getting repeated chances at the international level, failed to deliver and was often found guilty of throwing his wicket away at crucial junctures.

The team, to be led once again by experienced Misbah-ul-Haq, includes three openers in Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat. However, the squad has a rather weak middle-order line-up comprising senior pros Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, the reliable Asad Shafiq and Umar Amin.

The fast bowling department is looking rather strong spearheaded by talented Junaid Khan and lanky Mohammad Irfan backed up by the young trio of Asad Ali, Wahab Riaz and Ehsan Adil.

Similarly, the spin department has the brilliant spin twins Saeed Ajmal and left-arm Abdur Rehman to boost the team bowling attack.

All-rounder Shoaib Malik and Hafeez can, of course, come as good support in the spin department.

While announcing the squad, chief selector Iqbal Qasim said that Afridi is a fine cricketer but since his form of late has not been of desired level, he has not been considered for the Champions Trophy.

“The career of Afridi is by no means over. It happens in the world of cricket that various top-class cricketers suffer from lack of form and then make comebacks too. So Afridi can also make a comeback if his form improves,” he said.

Iqbal said the team comprised talented, young and experienced players and hopefully they would perform well under the leadership of Misbah.

Iqbal said the team was selected after consultation with the captain and now it was up to him to select the final playing XI from the 15-member side for the matches in England.

To a question, he said no one could predict about the results in the game of cricket but the current team had a lot of potential and could give a tough time to other competing teams.

About the selection of Abdul Rehman, Iqbal said he was selected keeping in mind the conditions in England and the requirement of the team, besides having the nod of the captain too.

Before taking part in the Champions Trophy, the team will play two ODIs against Ireland on May 17 and 19 at Edinburgh. It will also take on Scotland at Dublin on May 23 and 26.

Meanwhile, Director International Cricket Intikhab Alam announced that batting coach Trent Woodhill, an Australian, has been hired for a period of three weeks and will join the team in England. However, his contract can be extended after assessing his performance. Currently, he is doing his duties with Dehli Daredevils in the IPL.

Squad:

Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Abdur Rehman, Asad Ali, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Ehsan Adil.