LAHORE: After serving five-year spot-fixing ban Mohammad Amir has finally made it to the national ranks as the selectors named him on Friday in the ODI and Twenty20 squads for the forthcoming tour to New Zealand.

Pakistan are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many Twenty20s in New Zealand, starting on Jan 15.

Announcing the two sides, each comprising 16 members, Haroon also said the T20 squad was selected keeping in view the March-April 2016 World T20 to be staged in India.

In the T20 side, the most important re-entry is of 23-year-old Amir, who is at the verge of making international comeback after serving the spot-fixing ban imposed on him by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Now the only hurdle in the left-arm paceman’s way is the visa of New Zealand. The PCB in this regard has to present a special case for him because of his conviction in the spot-fixing case. Though the PCB hopes that Amir will get the visa, in case he doesn’t the bowler will be replaced by an appropriate player.

Haroon claimed the teams were balanced and expected tough contests in New Zealand.

“Our teams are balanced, and I believe they will face hard competition from a strong New Zealand team at their venues; their fielding too is very impressive,” said Haroon while announcing the squads at a news conference, along with another selector Azhar Khan, here on Friday.

Umar Gul returns for T20 duty

“Our bowling is good and if we show improvement in fielding, I believe there is no reason why Pakistan cannot beat the hosts.”

On the selection of Amir, the chief selector said the fast bowler was picked on merit.

“After taking into account the performance of the team and that of the player, we decided to opt for Amir as he was available for selection on merit [subject to visa]. His last performances in domestic cricket were quite satisfactory plus he has been cleared by the PCB for selection,” he stated.

However, the chief selector lamented over the poor performance shown by several players, in international contests, who on the basis of their showing in domestic cricket were tested in different combinations.

“In order to overcome the big vacuum [in national team] developed after the 2015 World Cup, we have been testing the resources — available in domestic cricket — at the international level. But except for a few cricketers all failed to meet the standard of international contests,” he regretted.

The T20 selections, he added, were made keeping the forthcoming World Twenty20 as the top priority.

“The World T20 is our main priority and now there will not be many experiments in testing the [T20] combination. The 26 players called for the ongoing fitness camp is the final group from which the players will be tested for the global event,” he said.

Umar Gul, 31, who previously spearheaded Pakistan’s pace attack on numerous occasions, played his last T20 for the country against Bangladesh in April last year, has returned to the T20 side after giving impressive performance in the domestic circuit. The veteran right-armer has so far claimed 83 scalps in 58 T20 Internationals.

Commenting on Gul’s return, Haroon said: “He has been performing well in the domestic season and therefore we decided to select him for the T20s. His performance in the [New Zealand] T20s will decide his future in ODIs.”

Two other players, who have been picked for the T20 campaign in New Zealand are young all-rounders Imad Wasim and Saad Nasim.

Opener Raffatullah Mohmand, all-rounder Sohail Tanvir, paceman Mohammad Irfan and Imran Khan Junior, who were part of the T20 squad that played against England in the UAE recently, were axed.

Meanwhile, Asad Shafiq, Imad Wasim, Amir and Sohaib Maqsood were included in the ODI party in place of Younis Khan, Yasir Shah and Bilal Asif.

Haroon said the main purpose to hold the camp at the Gaddafi Stadium was to bring improvement in the players’ fitness and fielding, the two crucial areas needing attention. “Special drills were also carried out during the camp to train the players on how to perform in death overs under demanding conditions.”

The chief selector said though Irfan had been dropped from the T20 side but he remained part of Pakistan’s T20 resource and was only axed to test Gul, whose performance was impressive in domestic cricket. Sources, however, said the selectors and the team management had some reservations over the fielding skills of Irfan and fellow paceman Sohail Tanvir, resulting in their axing.

There was presently no perfect alternative of frontline leg-spinner Yasir Shah (currently suspended for doping), and so off-spinner Zafar Gohar was named in the ODI squad, the chief selector said.

“It is not necessary to pick leg-spinner in place of leg-spinner as a better off-spinner could also be an alternative in such circumstances,” reckoned Haroon.

To a question, he said Sohaib Maqsood and Sarfraz Ahmed were also included in the T20 team as optional openers besides regulars Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez.

Squads:

ODI:

Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, (wicket-keeper), Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir.

Twenty20:

Shehzad, Hafeez, Sohaib, Malik, Umar Akmal, Iftikhar, Shahid Afridi (captain), Imad, Anwar, Aamir Yamin, Sarfraz (wicket-keeper), Wahab, Umar Gul, Rizwan, Saad Nasim, Amir.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2016