fawwaxs
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2009
- Messages
- 2,125
- Reaction score
- -2
- Country
- Location
LAHORE: The national selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to name 30 probables for training camp ahead of selecting the best teams for the forthcoming Asia Cup and the tour of England.
The committee, headed by Mohsin Hasan Khan, will be meeting here on Tuesday, for the first time since the World T20 in which Pakistan lost the title when they ended their campaign by losing to Australia in the semi-final.
Sources on Monday told Dawn that the selectors had made up their mind to initially pick 30 players for the camp and select the best team for the Asia Cup, starting in Sri Lanka from June 15, from them.
Pakistan will leave for England directly from Sri Lanka after the Asia Cup for their next big assignment. England will also serve as a neutral venue for the two Test matches against Australia followed by the four Tests against England. Pakistan will also play two Twenty20 matches against both the teams and five One-day Internationals against England.
There is also a chance of the selectors announcing the team for the tour of England along with the Asia Cup squad during the training camp. Maverick fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is also likely to find a place in the list of probables but his selection in the final squad for the Asia Cup depends on his fitness during the training camp.
Shoaib has been in and out of the national team on discipline and fitness grounds for the last five years now. The same reasons led to his being able to play four ODIs in 2006, five in 2007, none in 2008 and six in 2009. The last time he played a Test match was in December 2007.
Shoaibs performance in the last Pentangular Cup, held in Karachi in April, where he took 12 wickets for Islamabad shows his current match fitness. The selectors would now like to call him to camp to see him bowling longer spells.
Moreover, according to sources, fast bowler Umar Guls medical reports are not very encouraging and there is danger of the key bowlers missing the Asia Cup, at least, on fitness grounds.
Umar has been recuperating from a shoulder injury which also prevented him from playing in the side during the World T20. Although he resumed bowling some 10 days ago, he is again experiencing some uneasiness in his shoulder, sources said.
Some senior players currently facing a ban, including Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, may also be recalled for selection. But the final decision in this regard is likely to be taken after the meeting between Shahid Afridi and PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt, also scheduled for Tuesday, in Lahore.
Afridi, who has recently withdrew his self-imposed retirement from Test cricket, is most likely to be named captain of the Pakistan team for the Asia Cup and the entire tour of England after the meeting. With no suitable candidate available for the position, the PCB was facing difficulties in selecting a Test captain but Afridis announcement solved that problem for them. Otherwise they would have been compelled to appoint opener Salman Butt as captain.
The inclusion of Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf may also come up during the discussion between Afridi and Ijaz. The indefinite ban imposed on both by the PCB can be lifted any time, too. However, while Younis has already filed an appeal against the punishment, Yousuf preferred to announce his retirement. Still sources close to Yousuf told Dawn that the prolific batsman would be consulting his religious leaders if he were to receive any offer from the PCB in this regard.
The committee, headed by Mohsin Hasan Khan, will be meeting here on Tuesday, for the first time since the World T20 in which Pakistan lost the title when they ended their campaign by losing to Australia in the semi-final.
Sources on Monday told Dawn that the selectors had made up their mind to initially pick 30 players for the camp and select the best team for the Asia Cup, starting in Sri Lanka from June 15, from them.
Pakistan will leave for England directly from Sri Lanka after the Asia Cup for their next big assignment. England will also serve as a neutral venue for the two Test matches against Australia followed by the four Tests against England. Pakistan will also play two Twenty20 matches against both the teams and five One-day Internationals against England.
There is also a chance of the selectors announcing the team for the tour of England along with the Asia Cup squad during the training camp. Maverick fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is also likely to find a place in the list of probables but his selection in the final squad for the Asia Cup depends on his fitness during the training camp.
Shoaib has been in and out of the national team on discipline and fitness grounds for the last five years now. The same reasons led to his being able to play four ODIs in 2006, five in 2007, none in 2008 and six in 2009. The last time he played a Test match was in December 2007.
Shoaibs performance in the last Pentangular Cup, held in Karachi in April, where he took 12 wickets for Islamabad shows his current match fitness. The selectors would now like to call him to camp to see him bowling longer spells.
Moreover, according to sources, fast bowler Umar Guls medical reports are not very encouraging and there is danger of the key bowlers missing the Asia Cup, at least, on fitness grounds.
Umar has been recuperating from a shoulder injury which also prevented him from playing in the side during the World T20. Although he resumed bowling some 10 days ago, he is again experiencing some uneasiness in his shoulder, sources said.
Some senior players currently facing a ban, including Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, may also be recalled for selection. But the final decision in this regard is likely to be taken after the meeting between Shahid Afridi and PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt, also scheduled for Tuesday, in Lahore.
Afridi, who has recently withdrew his self-imposed retirement from Test cricket, is most likely to be named captain of the Pakistan team for the Asia Cup and the entire tour of England after the meeting. With no suitable candidate available for the position, the PCB was facing difficulties in selecting a Test captain but Afridis announcement solved that problem for them. Otherwise they would have been compelled to appoint opener Salman Butt as captain.
The inclusion of Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf may also come up during the discussion between Afridi and Ijaz. The indefinite ban imposed on both by the PCB can be lifted any time, too. However, while Younis has already filed an appeal against the punishment, Yousuf preferred to announce his retirement. Still sources close to Yousuf told Dawn that the prolific batsman would be consulting his religious leaders if he were to receive any offer from the PCB in this regard.
