The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday named a 15-member squad, excluding veteran Mohammad Yousuf, for the upcoming World Cup to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The selectors, headed by former Test opener Mohsin Hasan Khan, have almost retained the ODI squad picked for the tour of New Zealand with the exception of fast bowler Tanvir Ahmad. However, the board has not yet named a captain or a vice-captain for the mega tournament. The national media have reported the PCB is considering handing over the captaincy to Misbah after his successful run as captain in Tests against South Africa and New Zealand.
The six-match New Zealand ODI series that starts on January 22 will be an ideal opportunity for Pakistan to test its World Cup squad, though in significantly different conditions.
Yousuf made the 30-man preliminary World Cup squad but hasn’t played a one-dayer since he was recalled for the series-decider against South Africa last November in Dubai and made only 3. The veteran of 288 ODIs for Pakistan, fifth-highest in team history, scored only one half-century in 10 matches last year. Though he helped Pakistan reach the final of his first World Cup in 1999 in England, Yousuf scored only two half-centuries in 13 career World Cup matches. “It is very disappointing to not be picked for such a big event especially since I am fit and playing in domestic cricket,” Yousuf said while reacting to his omission from the World Cup squad. “Only the selectors can explain the reason to omit me because I think I have still lot of cricket left in me at the international level,” Yousuf added.
Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will lead the four-pronged pace attack which also includes Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Tanvir, with all-rounder Abdul Razzaq supplementing as a medium-pace bowler. Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, who was Man of the Match in the first Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, has been picked alongside off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmad Shahzad are opening options, while Misbahul Haq, Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi add experience to the batting. Middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq, who has done well in the five-day version, has also been retained.
Chief selector Mohsin said the selection committee had picked the best available squad depending on the performance of the players in all formats of the game in recent times. “We have stuck with those players who have been performing well for Pakistan in all forms of the game in recent times,” he said. Khan, however, did not explain why Yousuf was omitted. But sources said that the selectors were not satisfied with the senior batsman’s fitness. Mohsin said that the two spinners were picked despite the presence of Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez because the conditions in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh suited the slow bowlers. “We are confident that the two spinners will deliver the goods in the World Cup,” he said.
But the decision to not name the captain for the World Cup, although Afridi has led the team in T20 and ODI since last year and is also presently captain for the series in New Zealand, indicates that Test captain Misbah remains a strong choice to also lead the one-day squad. Pakistan will be without key players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer who were all provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on charges of spot-fixing during team’s tour to England last year. A decision on their case is due on February 5 and the PCB last week said they can be included in the team if absolved. All-rounder Shoaib Malik and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria have also failed to get clearance. Both Malik and Kaneria, part of the 2007 World Cup team, are also reportedly under suspicion of match-fixing.
Pakistan are in Group A with Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Canada. They will play their group matches in Sri Lanka. The 1992 World Cup champions were eliminated in the early rounds of the last two tournaments in South Africa and West Indies. Their 2007 World Cup campaign ended in tragedy as their coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room a day after the team were knocked out of the tournament by minnows Ireland. Jamaican police initially opened a murder investigation into Woolmer’s death but a jury recorded an open verdict on the Englishman’s death after deciding that there was insufficient evidence of either a criminal act or natural causes.
Squad:
Shahid Afridi, Misbahul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younus Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir and Ahmad Shahzad.