LAHORE, April 7: Opener Salman Butt, off-spinner Arshad Khan and medium-pacer Umar Gul were dropped as a 14-member Pakistan team was announced for back-to-back ODIs against India to be held in Abu Dhabi on April 18 and 19 to raise funds for Oct 8's earthquake victims.

Three players were included in the Pakistan team which returned home on Sunday after a successful tour of Sri Lanka.

Salman, who is going through a bad patch was dropped for his poor form while Umar has been inducted in the Pakistan 'A' team, taking part in Euro-Asia Cup to be held at the same venue of Abu Dhabi from April 22 to May 5.

Arshad, who remained a joyrider as he did not play any of the two Test against Sri Lanka has been sidelined mainly because he is considered as a bowler more suitable for Test cricket.

Abdul Rahman, who was included for the three ODIs series against Sri Lanka, but returned home without making the debut was also included, with the hope of not being a joyrider again.

All-rounder Shoaib Malik, who has been playing with his troubling elbow since 2001, was also included in the team.

Malik is to get his elbow operated upon in South Africa on April 26.

Pakistan will get 75 per cent of the income of the first ODI while India will take 25 per cent. Two boards will share equally the income of the second ODI.

Team

Inzamamul Haq (captain), Younis Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Yousaf, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Rana Naveedul Hasan, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Danish Kaneria, Muhammad Asif, Rao Iftikhar, Abdul Rahman.

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...