LAHORE, March 20: Pakistan on Thursday left out as many as seven World Cup stalwarts for Sharjah Cup, including the pace trio of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar and premier batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar.
Unveiling a new-look 16-man squad at a press briefing at Gaddafi Stadium, Aamir Sohail, the new chairman of selectors, clarified that apart from deposed captain Waqar, who was dropped, the remaining senior players were being ‘rested’.
Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was also a notable omission in a squad that now contains only seven players who played in the World Cup in southern Africa. Also not considered for selection was all-rounder Azhar Mahmood while Shahid Afridi is serving a ban for sledging in the World Cup Group ‘A’ fixture against India.
Skipper Rashid Latif and his newly appointed deputy Yousuf Youhana retain their place along with Younis Khan, Saleem Elahi, Taufiq Umar, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Sami.
First time inductees, opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez and pace bowler Umar Gul, are among nine changes in the Sharjah-bound squad. As expected Misbah-ul-Haq returns after a prolific Quaid-i-Azam Trophy season in which he topped the batting averages and amassed 963 runs (averaging 107.00).
Also back in favour are batsmen Faisal Iqbal and Naved Latif, off-spinning all-rounder Shoaib Malik, leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and fast bowler Mohammad Zahid.
Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, a right-arm medium-pacer who is also a useful batsman, is picked for his second tour with the senior team. He was a non-playing member of the Pakistan side that played host to Australia in the offshore Test series in Colombo and Sharjah last October.
The inclusion of 22-year-old Hafeez is a major surprise. He made only 251 runs in seven matches for Sargodha in the recent Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.
In contrast, claims of several young players were ignored by the five-man selection committee. Among them were batsmen Saeed bin Nasir, Yasir Hameed, Bazid Khan, Asim Kamal and Farhan Adil, all-rounder Yasir Arafat and speedster Jaffar Nazir. All these youngsters performed exceptionally well in the Quaid Trophy.
Aamir, while addressing the media, however, contradicted himself saying he was not sure whether the senior players would get the chance to make a comeback in the future.
“We are passing through a rebuilding process. To test how much backup is available, the new players will be given sufficient time. If they click we will then see whether the team needs the stars or not,” Aamir said.
Aamir further remarked that the new team was formed with full consent of skipper Rashid Latif. “The new selection committee had a detailed meeting with Rashid and finally the skipper’s point of view was given full weight.”
Regarding the selection of injury-plagued paceman Mohammad Zahid, Aamir said that the bowler was included in the team after the PCB panel of doctors passed him fit.
He said that the selectors wanted to include pacers Najaf Shah and Jaffar Nazir but Rashid demanded an all-rounder be picked and thus Shoaib Malik was included.
The chief selector said that Rashid had been told clearly not to use Razzaq or Shoaib at No 3 position unless a pinch-hitter was required.
Aamir claimed that Razzaq had lot of qualities and he could not performed to his true potential in the World Cup only because of repeated reshuffling of the batting order
When asked why Hafeez was given the nods over others, Aamir replied: “Hafeez had been performing well at the domestic level and deserved a place in the team.”
Aamir made a plea to the nation and the national press to support this new team. “This team will be given a proper time to deliver. And I appeal to media and nation to show patience.”
To a question, Aamir dispelled the impression that the PCB has imposed Rashid with the captaincy because the announcement was made before selecting the team.
“I was consulted by PCB for Rashid and I gave my full consent because he is the best man for this post under current circumstances. He is a fighter and having the abilities to deliver under difficult situation,” Aamir said.
Squad: Rashid Latif (captain), Yousuf Youhana (vice-captain), Saleem Elahi, Taufiq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Naved Latif, Faisal Iqbal, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Zahid. Officials: Javed Miandad (coach), Haroon Rasheed (manager), Dr Tauseef Razzaq (trainer/physiotherapist) and Dr Riaz Ahmed (team doctor).