LAHORE, July 10 Interim chief selector Wasim Bari on Friday announced the Pakistan 'A' team for the next month's tour of Sri Lanka in a rather hasty manner and without properly considering the final performances of the players currently playing in Australia.
The 'A' team is to play two four-dayers as well as five one-dayers in Sri Lanka from Aug 2-28.
The Pakistan 'A' team, which began the three-match one-day series in Australia on Friday, is yet to play two more one-dayers and one Twenty20 fixture and the final performances of many of the players in the team cannot be judged fully at this stage. Critics feel that the selectors should have waited until after the series was over to finalise the 'A' squad for Sri Lanka.
More interestingly, while the series Down Under is just half way through, Mohammad Hafeez who is currently leading the 'A' side has been dropped from the Sri Lankan tour and Faisal Iqbal has been named skipper in his place. Quite obviously, the decision of excluding Hafeez at this stage is bound affect his performance in Australia and as well as of his teammates.
Earlier this month, PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt had categorically stated that a regular national selection committee would be announced by the end of the third week of July which will have plenty of time to announce this team for Sri Lanka.
Both Faisal Iqbal and Khurram Manzoor, currently touring Sri Lanka with the Pakistan team, have been included in the 'A' squad.
Two spinners Nayyar Abbas and Yasir Shah are the newcomers in the side while Azeem Ghumman has been axed from the side.
Also, some of the players who remained under performers in the two four-day matches of the ongoing tour of Australia, have been surprisingly retained for Sri Lanka. They are Khalid Latif (53 runs), Umar Amin (64 runs), Mohammad Talha (three wickets for 193 runs at 64.33 average), Abdur Rehman (six wickets for 289 runs at 48.16 average), Navid Arif (three wickets for 224 at 74.66 average).
Umar Akmal (two matches, 283 runs), Azhar Ali (two matches, 160 runs), Fahad Iqbal (two matches, 122 runs), Wahab Riaz (11 wickets for 282 runs at average 25.67) have so far excelled on the tour Down Under and have been named in the side for SL tour.
While the PCB had sent a 14-member team for the Australian tour, a 16-member squad will go to Sri Lanka for almost the same number of matches.
Squad Khalid Latif, Umar Amin, Azhar Ali, Khurram Manzoor, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal (captain), Fahad Iqbal, Shaharyar Ghani, Sarfraz Ahmed (vice-captain), Mohammad Talha, Fahad Masood, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Rehman, Yasir Shah, Naveed Arif, Nayyar Abbas.
