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LAHORE While veteran batsman Younis Khan was finally picked by the national selection committee on Thursday for the forthcoming One-day International series against Australia, all-rounder Fawad Alam and paceman Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were named in both ODI and Twenty20 squads.
Seventeen players were selected in the ODI team and 16 were included for the Twenty20 International to be staged on Feb 5 in Melbourne after the ODI series.
While heavyweights Mohammad Yousuf and Younis are not part of the Twenty20 team, flamboyant opener Imran Nazir has been included in the game's shortest version.
Surprisingly, Fawad Alam, who was sent back home from Australia after the Melbourne Test, has been picked for both ODIs and the Twenty20.
Misbah-ul-Haq, out of form currently, couldn't get the selectors' nod for both the limited-overs versions.
With Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi to be the deputy to Yousuf in the ODIs, Kamran Akmal whose pathetic glovework led to his axe in the Hobart Test, has been named in both the squads which also contain Kamran's replacement in Hobart - Sarfraz Ahmed.
Younis, who took a break from international cricket after the ODI series loss (1-2) at the hands of New Zealand in the UAE and missed the Test series against the same side in New Zealand followed by the Test rubber in Australia, has finally got a place in the ODI series starting Down Under from Jan 22 in Brisbane.
Younis, considered backbone of the team's middle-order batting, in fact was disappointed and left the team under pressure as he felt he was not getting support from his charges.
Currently, as Yousuf is leading the side in place of Younis, the latter has come back came as a batsman.
It may be mentioned that Yousuf, prior to the first Test in Melbourne, had expressed his desire to have Younis back in the side.
However, the selection committee did not give weight to Yousuf's request and advised Younis to first play some domestic matches to show his form and fitness.
Though Younis played the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy final for Habib Bank Limited against Karachi Blues, he failed to play any big knock as the HBL lost the final. The right-handed batsman also featured in the ongoing Pentangular Cup but again failed to impress the selectors.
However, a timely media statement by chief selector Iqbal Qasim had paved the way for Younis to get a place in the team.
Iqbal had said Younis was a great player and did not need to perform in domestic to be selected in the national team, and was only asked to play some domestic games to get back into match practice.
Besides Younis, others who regained places are all-rounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Khalid Latif and Rao Iftikhar (ODI and Twenty20).
Squads
One-dayers Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf (captain), Shahid Afridi (vice-captain), Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Aamir, Sarfraz Ahmed, Fawad Alam, Younis Khan, Rao Iftikhar, Khalid Latif, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.
Twenty20 Shahid Afridi (captain), Imran Farhat, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Shoaib Malik, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Aamir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Asif.
