LAHORE, Nov 30: Former captain Shoaib Malik, wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria once again failed to get clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for selection while prolific middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf and opener Imran Farhat were ignored as the selectors named Pakistan squads for the three T20 games and two Test matches against New Zealand.

Pakistan's series in New Zealand commences with three T20 matches starting Dec 26. The PCB, through a press release, announced the 15-member team for the three T20 matches and another 14-member squad for the two Tests while refraining from announcing the one-day squad for the six-match ODI series.

Both Malik and Kamran were also dropped for the last series against South Africa, held in the UAE but with their consistent show in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, it was expected that both the players will return to national ranks this time.

The selection committee did name both of them for the New Zealand squads after getting an initial clearance from the PCB but later, in a rather strange development on Monday, the Board asked the selectors to exclude their names from the team.

When contacted, chief selector Mohsin admitted that the reasons behind dropping Malik and Kamran were not related to their performance but to the non-clearance of PCB.

Kaneria, who was originally selected for the two Test matches against South Africa but was later stopped from travelling to the UAE, again faced the axe on Tuesday after not getting due clearance from the board.

Elaborating on the omission of seasoned Yousuf, Mohsin said he had been dropped on fitness grounds which had forced him to leave the national team in the UAE prior to the start of the Test matches last month. About Imran Farhat, he said he had been dropped purely on bad performance in the SA matches.

Ahmed Shahzad, a hard-hitting opening batsman who made his debut in the ODI and T20 cricket in 2008-09 season, returns to the team since he impressed the selectors with his performance in the Quaid Trophy by scoring 600 runs in five matches with three centuries and one half-century, averaging exact 100.

However, it must be mentioned that in his short international career, Ahmed has faced disciplinary problems on several occasion and was fined as well.

All-rounder Sohail Tanvir also made both the squads after proving his fitness recently.

Speaking about medium-pacer Wahab Riaz's condition, chief selector said he had been included subject to his fitness for the tour. “We will receive his final medical report on Dec 8 but since he has started training with some improvement he has been selected of now,” he said.

Asked why the team for the six-match ODI series has not been named, Mohsin said it was not being announced because the series was the last limited overs contest before the 2011 World Cup and keeping that in mind, a carefully chosen squad would be in place soon.

“We will watch the performances of the players in the T20 and Test matches to retain or axe any player for the one-day series as it is the most important ODI assignment ahead of the World Cup,” he insisted.

All-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead Pakistan in the T20 series while Misbah-ul-Haq will be the skipper for the two Tests in New Zealand.

Squads: Twenty20: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Adnan Akmal (wicket-keeper), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Tanvir Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz (subject to fitness). Tests: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal (wicketkeeper), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz.