LAHORE – Wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal and Mohamamd Yousuf finally got the nod from the Pakistan Cricket Board as they were included in the preliminary 30-member list of probables for the 2011 World Cup here on Tuesday. Shoaib Malik and Danish Kaneria were left out.
The national selection committee under Mohsin Khan met at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore for one last time to finalise the 30 probables for World Cup 2011. After deliberations, the Committee finalized the 30 names.
There was a general feeling that Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik would not get clearance for inclusion in the team but the wicket-keeper was lucky enough to have convinced the PCB integrity committee and found his name among the probables. Another player Danish Kaneria was also under scanner but he did not come under consideration for his unimpressive one-day record while Malik failed to convince the integrity committee for his past behaviours.
Akmal, Malik and Kaneria were among the players asked to submit documents listing their assets and bank accounts to the PCB’s integrity committee.
Kaneria was included in the squad for the Test series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates but was refused clearance by the PCB and he has been fully overlooked on this occasion. Yousuf, who was having groin injury, also found a place in the list. In fact the delay in the announcement of the team provided Yousuf a chance to sneak into the list.
Last month, the International Cricket Council extended the PCB’s deadline until January 5 for the submission of the preliminary World Cup list after it asked for more time to seek clearance for certain players.
PCB chief Ijaz Butt met the ODI and Twenty20 captain of the team Shahid Afridi to finalise a squad for the upcoming World Cup. Afridi hinted that the team would need an experienced batsman like Yousuf for the mega event.
Yousuf is currently playing league cricket in Bangladesh and is eager to represent the national team in the mega event. He has even taken a physical trainer along with him so that he can train well. The PCB chairman confirmed to Afridi he would advise the selectors to consider the veteran batsman for the World Cup squad.
Chairman national selection committee Mohsin Khan said: “We are satisfied that we have selected the best squad from amongst the available players. The selection committee met on multiple occasions and then decided the names. I request the whole nation to back the selected players who need all the encouragement to win the World Cup”.
Chairman PCB commenting on the reports regarding the ‘clearance’ of certain players said: “There were a lot of speculations regarding the clearance or otherwise of players by the Integrity Committee of the PCB. The Integrity Committee has given its views on some players to the selection committee which has taken into consideration that input and has selected the 30 players for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.”
He said that the squad for the New Zealand ODI series will be announced next week.
The probable:
Opening Batsmen: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Taufique Umer, Nasir Jamshed
Middle Order Batsmen: Mohammad Yousuf, Younus Khan, Misbah ul Haq, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Naveed Yasin
Wicket Keepers: Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Salman Ahmed
All Rounder’s: Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Rana Naveed
Spin Bowlers: Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar
Fast Bowlers: Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanveer, Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Asad Ali.
