KARACHI, Aug 7: Senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq were notable absentees on Tuesday in the Pakistan cricket squad that almost picked itself for next month’s Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.

Announcing the 15-man party here at the National Stadium, chairman of selectors Salahuddin Ahmed said although it was a difficult decision to omit the experienced duo, there was still a lot of cricket ahead of them.

“In fact, we have opted to rest both Yousuf and Razzaq considering the importance of the coming international season which includes crucial Test and ODI series against South Africa, India and Australia,” Salahuddin, flanked by fellow Karachi-based selector Saleem Jaffer, told a crowded press conference.

“Let me make it clear that their exclusion from the Twenty20 tournament does not signal the end of their playing careers. We respect their immense contribution and value to Pakistan cricket. But given the requirements of the Twenty20 game it was a unanimous decision to go for the best available set of players.”

The selectors have called up Misbah-ul-Haq to fill the breach left by Yousuf while Yasir Arafat has taken up Razzaq’s spot as one of the three all-rounders in the squad.

Misbah’s inclusion does raise a few eyebrows, but the right-hander — who at 33 is the oldest member in a squad that has an average age of 26 — has performed consistently in domestic cricket. In 13 Twenty20 matches, he has accumulated 345 runs at an average of 49.28.

In the series of practice matches, Misbah scored 207 runs in 12 games despite being shuffled around in the order. In contrast, Yousuf, who averages a modest 19.28 (135 runs in eight domestic matches), collected just 44 runs in five matches.

Misbah has been entrusted with huge responsibility not only for the fact that he is replacing a player of Yousuf’s experience (75 Tests and 242 One-day Internationals), but he is the only specialist middle-order batsman in the squad apart from Younis Khan, who was exempted from the camp because of his Yorkshire commitments in the English County Championship.

Razzaq, who actually appeared stale and far from fit during the Karachi training camp, made only 65 runs and bagged just four wickets in five of the eight practice matches which were specifically arranged to assess the form and fitness of the 26 probables.

The selection committee, which also includes Shafqat Rana, had finalized the squad on Monday night after a lengthy meeting. Apart from Yousuf and Razzaq, the focal point of discussion was Shoaib Akhtar, who was inducted in the squad after the PCB doctor Riaz Ahmed confirmed that the fast bowler, who was suffering a stiff neck, was now fit.

“Shoaib Akhtar has been picked after Dr Riaz Ahmed informed us from Lahore that he has regained full fitness,” Salahuddin said.

Shoaib is one of the four specialist pacemen in the squad along with Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar.

On the selection of Yasir Arafat, the chief selector pointed out that the right-hander all-rounder, who bowls brisk medium-pacers and is a handy lower-order batsman, helped Kent win the English Twenty20 Cup last Saturday.

“Yasir played a key role in helping Kent win the title with 14 wickets, the second best haul for the county side. In addition, he is a pretty useful batsman capable of scoring quickly,” he commented.

The selectors must be commended for picking Abdul Rehman as the solitary specialist spin option. The slow left-armer was leading wicket-taker in the series of practice matches, grabbing 16 wickets, including a rare hat-trick in the final game on Sunday night.

The 21-year-old upcoming all-rounder Fawad Alam, the youngest member of the South Africa-bound squad, earned selection purely on the basis of his tremendous run in the Twenty20 Cup last December when he ran away with all the major individual awards — the Man-of-the-Match, the Man-of-the-Series, best batsman and the best bowler prizes.

Fawad, who bats left-handed and bowls slow left-armers, scored 156 runs and claimed six wickets in eight practice games.

But if there was to be a ‘Man-of-the-Series’ award for the 12 practice matches held in Lahore and Karachi, it would certainly go to Salman Butt. The young Pakistan vice-captain amassed 461 runs with one century and three fifties. Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, scored 336 runs, followed by Imran Nazir (283) and Mohammad Hafeez (282).

Salahuddin held high hopes for Pakistan in the inaugural tournament of the latest version of cricket. “Given the depth of talent in the squad, people would back Pakistan to win the title although we have less experience of playing Twenty20 Internationals. We are confident of good showing from the lads.”

The chief selector also added that the recent practice matches also threw up a number of players who will be an asset for the future.

“There are a number of players we saw who could be tomorrow’s stars. As I said earlier, there is a lot of cricket coming up in the months ahead and some of them could find themselves playing for Pakistan. This is very good sign for the future,” Salahuddin concluded.

Pakistan open their World Twenty20 campaign in Group ‘D’ in Durban against Scotland on Sept 12 in an afternoon fixture before taking old foes India two days later under floodlights.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt (vice-captain), Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Fawad Alam, Abdul Rehman.