Pakistan squad to meet Sri Lanka
Pakistan Monday included six pacemen in their 15-man squad for the
first of three one-day internationals to be played against Sri Lanka
later this month.
Shoaib Akhtar, who missed all three matches in Pakistan’s one-day
series in Abu Dhabi in November due to injury, is back in form to lead
the pace attack with Umar Gul, Sohail Tanveer, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Khan
and Rao Iftikhar.
“The squad is for the first match only and teams for later matches
will be announced after the first game,” said a spokesman for the
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The squad includes only one uncapped player in left-handed batsman
Umar Amin. The 19-year-old caught the eye of selectors when he scored
254 runs in four one-day matches in a domestic competition last month.
Arafat, the 26-year-old who played the last of his eight ODIs in
February last year, was preferred over all-rounder Fawad Alam.
Sri Lanka agreed to tour Pakistan after India last month cancelled
their eagerly awaited tour.
New Delhi refused to allow the team to tour Pakistan amid heightened
political tensions triggered by the Mumbai attacks in November, which
India has blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
Sri Lanka will arrive in Pakistan on January 18 and play the first
one-day at Karachi (Jan 21). The second match will be played in Lahore
(Jan 24) and the last match has been shifted from Faisalabad to Multan
(Jan 27). Sri Lanka will return to Pakistan next month for Tests in
Karachi and Lahore. The final dates for the Tests have not yet been
announced.
Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Younus
Khan, Misbahul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail
Tanveer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Rao Iftikhar, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Khan
and Umar Amin.
LAHORE, Monday, AFP |