Pakistan drops Kamran and Yousuf for NZ tour
Pakistan left under-suspicion wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and senior
batsman Mohammad Yousuf out of the Twenty20 and Test squads announced
Tuesday for next month’s tour of New Zealand.
Shahid Afridi will lead the Twenty20 team while Misbah-ul-Haq was
retained as Test captain.
Akmal, who was ruled out of Pakistan’s recent series against South
Africa in the United Arab Emirates after surgery for appendicitis, has
been at the centre of match-fixing allegations. The International
Cricket Council (ICC) reportedly issued notice to him regarding
Pakistan’s controversial defeat against Australia in the Sydney Test in
January. But there were reports in Pakistani media suggesting Akmal, 28,
had contacted the ICC regarding his selection and was told that he was
cleared for selection.
Yousuf, 36, had to return home after a recurrence of a groin injury
earlier this month and although he too was featuring in the domestic
matches, selectors left him out. Also out of the team was former captain
Shoaib Malik.
Malik, 28, was also left out of the team against the South African
series after performing poorly on the tour of England.
Pakistan plays three Twenty20 matches, two Tests and six one-day
internationals. A separate squad for the one-day matches will be
announced later. Twenty20 squad: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad
Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Adnan Akmal,
Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar,
Tanveer Ahmed, Sohail Tanveer, Wahab Riaz (subject to fitness).
Test squad: Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umer, Younis Khan,
Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul
Rehman, Umar Gul, Tanveer Ahmed, Sohail Tanveer, Wahab Riaz.
LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov 30, 2010 , AFP
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