LAHORE – The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced Pakistan cricket team for the upcoming tour of India which will be played at various venues of India from December to January.
PCB chief selector Iqbal Qasim announced the team here at the Gaddafi Stadium. All-rounder Shahid Afridi was selected for the Twenty20 team but was dropped from the ODI squad while all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who played exceptionally well in the National Twenty20 to prove his fitness and steered his team to important victories, was dropped from both T20 and ODI squads.
M Hafeez will captain the Twenty20 squad while Misbahul Haq will lead the One-day side.
Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan all-rounder, has been dropped from the one-day squad for the tour of India in December, one of six changes made to the team that lost 1-2 to Australia in the UAE in August and September. Afridi retained his spot in Pakistan’s Twenty20 squad, which also had six changes made to the outfit that went to Sri Lanka for the World Twenty20.
Apart from Afridi, the players cut from the ODI squad that went to the UAE were left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, fast bowlers Aizaz Cheema and Sohail Tanvir, and all-rounder Shoaib Malik. Asad Shafiq was also left out because of injury.
They were replaced by Younus Khan, Haris Sohail, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, and Zulfiqar Babar. Younus and Gul were making comebacks after being axed for the series against Australia. Fast bowler Riaz was returning to the squad after last playing in the Asia Cup in March, while batsman Haris Sohail and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar received their maiden call-ups to the one-day squad.
Pakistan lost the World Twenty20 semi-final to Sri Lanka and from that squad, all-rounders Abdul Razzaq and Yasir Arafat and opening batsman Imran Nazir were left out. Shafiq and left-arm spinner Raza Hasan were injured.
Fast bowler Junaid Khan, who was a surprising omission from the World T20 campaign, returned to the squad, and Ahmed Shehzad, Babar, Asad Ali, M Irfan and Umer Amin were the other inclusions.
Pakistan is set to tour India in December-January for a series comprising three One-day internationals and two Twenty20s, the first bilateral series between the two arch-rivals in five years.
Pakistan T20 squad comprises M Hafeez (captain), Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal, Umer Akmal, Umer Amin, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, M Irfan, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanveer, Umer Gul, Asad Ali, Zulfiqar Babar and Ahmed Shahzad.
The ODI squad consists of Nasir Jamshed, M Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younus Khan, Misbalul Haq (captain), Haris Sohail, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Umer Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Imran Farhat, Umer Akmal and Anwar Ali.