LAHORE: The think-tank of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering a proposal to include veteran middle-order batsman Younis Khan in the list of 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy, from which a 15-member Pakistan squad will be announced by the end of this month.

Younis, 35, holding vast experience of 253 ODIs in which he has scored 7,014 runs at 31.88 average, may be considered in place of injured paceman Umar Gul, who is injured and whose name was included in the list of 30 probables, sources said.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in England from June 6. The final Pakistan squad is to be submitted to the ICC by May 5.

The national selection committee was criticised by different quarters for not including Younis even in the list of 30 probables, the sources added.

All-rounder Shahid Afridi’s inclusion in the squad is also debatable. Though Afridi’s performance has not been impressive in domestic and international competitions since long, the PCB think-tank believes his vast experience of international cricket may be beneficial for the squad.

Moreover, Umar Akmal has little chance to get selected because of his poor run with the bat, therefore, the inclusion of Younis and Afridi will at least make the squad experienced.

Meanwhile, the PCB has also decided to hire the services of a batting coach for the Champions Trophy for which an Australian is the main priority, the sources said.

The PCB had offered this post to Inzamam-ul-Haq, but later withdrew it. Instead of hiring the batting coach, the PCB had appointed Mohammad Akram as bowling coach.