LAHORE – Uncapped Sadaf Hussain, who was in the reserve players list, will replace Aizaz Cheema in the Pakistan’s Twenty20 and ODI squad announced on Wednesday for Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies.
According to a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) statement issued here on Thursday, Cheema has been declared unfit by doctors. Hussain is 21-year-old and is a left-arm medium fast from Rawalpindi.
In the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2010-11, he captured 64 wickets, with a best performance of 6 for 40. He has taken five wickets in an innings for eight times and 10 wickets in a match two times.
The 31-year-old Cheema was among the 16-man squad announced Wednesday for one Twenty20 international and five one-day matches on Pakistan’s tour to the Caribbean starting later this month.
But only a day later, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said its medical panel had ruled Cheema unfit.
“Cheema who was included in the T20 and ODI squad has been declared unfit by doctors and is being replaced by Sadaf Hussain,” the PCB said, without detailing the extent of Cheema’s injury.
Medics previously overruled Pakistan’s selection committee on the choice of another fast bowler, Sohail Tanveer, for a tour of New Zealand in January. The Pakistan selectors have included four uncapped players in a bid to inject fresh talent in the team for the Carribean tour.
The squad includes five players yet to play for the senior team – wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman, batsman Usman Salahuddin, all-rounder Hammad Azam and pacers Sadaf and Junaid Khan. The team leaves Pakistan on April 14 and plays the Twenty20 in St Lucia on April 21. They will also play two Tests on the Caribbean tour.
Meanwhile, West Indies have announced a new-look squad for their one-off Twenty20 international against Pakistan in St Lucia on April 21, featuring four new caps and recalls for Lendl Simmons and Marlon Samuels, who is once again eligible for selection after serving a two-year ban for his alleged involvement with illegal bookmakers.
The match will be West Indies’ first since Pakistan eliminated them at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup, and true to the intentions of their coach, Ottis Gibson, the team is the first step towards a new era for Caribbean cricket, as it features few of the elder statesmen who were sent packing from the tournament with a humiliating ten-wicket defeat in Dhaka.
Though Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard are not eligible for selection because they did not play in the Caribbean T20 earlier this year, there is no place either for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan or Sulieman Benn. Darren Sammy retains his place as captain, with Devendra Bishoo and Andre Russell, two young players who made good impressions at the World Cup, both included.
The uncapped inclusions are Danza Hyatt, a powerful Jamaican right-hander; Christopher Barnwell, an all-rounder from Guyana; Ashley Nurse, an off-spinner from Barbados, and left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, also from Jamaica. Simmons, the nephew of the Ireland coach, Phil, is back in the squad for the first time since the tour of Australia in 2010.
Clyde Butts, the chairman of selectors, said: “The squad includes players who have performed well in the Caribbean T20. We are looking to expose players ahead of the ICC World T20 Tournament next year. Samuels and Simmons have both played at this level before and performed consistently in the Caribbean T20. We believe they will be key members of this team.
“Hyatt, Santokie and Nurse played in the West Indies A team against Pakistan A and they did well. We have decided to give them the opportunity in the senior West Indies team and we believe they will make the transition to the higher level. Barnwell also did well in the Caribbean T20 and he also had exposure for Guyana in the Champions League last year. He is a lively and enthusiastic cricketer and we expect good things from him as well. “Hyatt is a hard-hitting batsman who has demonstrated his ability to be a match-winner when he played against Pakistan A. Santokie has been exceptional in the Caribbean T20 using the new ball for Jamaica. Nurse is a clever bowler, a hard worker and has the ability to make vital runs in the lower order as well.”
West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Andre Fletcher, Danza Hyatt, Ashley Nurse, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons.
