The Pakistan Cricket Board has got rid of allrounder Shahid Afridi and also dropped Umer Akmal for the next month’s Champions Trophy to be held in England.
Afridi and Umer were left out of the Pakistan squad for while selectors have warned Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik that they are running out of chances.
The 32-year-old, who has played 354 one-day internationals, was the only senior player overlooked for the tournament with chief selector Iqbal Qasim saying Afridi’s bowling had cost him his place in the squad.
Afridi has had to deal with indifferent form over the past 12 months, and was omitted from a crucial ODI series against India in December 2012 but was back in the mix for the team’s tour of South Africa. However, he failed to turn around the corner and performed well below his usual standards. He sent 37 wicketless overs in the five-match series and managed just 126 runs with the bat, 88 of which came in one match.
“Afridi’s bowling has not been up to the mark in recent matches,” he said in a news conference.
“He has not taken wickets and his primary role in the team is that of a bowler.”
Afridi failed to take a wicket in the recent one-day series against India and South Africa.
There were other notable changes in the 15-man group, with the likes of Umar Akmal and Sohail Tanvir omitted from the squad after failing to cement a permanent spot. This opened slots for the likes of Ehsan Adil, Asad Ali (fast bowlers) and Umar Amin (bowling all-rounder), all of whom had not been a part of the group which travelled to South Africa.
Selectors recalled middle order batsman Umar Amin and included five pace bowlers for the tournament.
The young attack includes uncapped youngster Asad Ali as well as Ehsan Adil, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz andMohammad Irfan.
Qasim said senior players Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik needed to impress.
“Both need to contribute significantly to the team’s performance because in recent matches they have not lived up to our expectations,” he said.
Pakistan will play a one-day series in Scotland and Ireland in May before going to England for the Champions Trophy in which they are in a group with South Africa, India and West Indies.
It will be their first visit to England since the 2010 spot fixing scandal.
Qasim asserted that the composition was chosen after consensus of all of concerned parties. The squad announcement was delayed by almost 3 hours as the selectors waited for the approval from Chairman, Zaka Ashraf.
Pakistan are in Pool B of the Champions Trophy, which further includes India, West Indies and South Africa.
The team: Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umer Amin, Kamran Akmal (WK), Abdur Rehman, Asad Ali, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Ehsan Adil