LAHORE – Discarded wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq make their way in as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed 30 probables for the ICC World Twenty 20, 2012 on Wednesday.
The World Twenty20 Cup will commence in Sri Lanka from September 18, 2012 in which top teams of world vie for the top honours while England will defend their title.
Kamran, who was summoned by the PCB’s integrity committee last week over match-fixing allegations was cleared by the committee and after receiving clearance information, the PCB has included his name in the list, one of the source confided to this scribe on Wednesday.
Earlier chief selector Iqbal Qasim had reportedly said Kamran needed to clear himself of integrity issues before being eligible for selection for the national team. He had last played for Pakistan at the 2011 World Cup, but has been active on the domestic circuit and had played the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) earlier this year.
Akmal had come under the scanner when ICC's anti-corruption and security unit sent him a notice after the Nottingham Test against England in July 2010, seeking information about events related to the 2010 World Twenty20 held in the Caribbean. Akmal later claimed that he has an ICC clearance letter that says there is no inquiry pending against him.
Razzaq has not played for Pakistan since injuring his shoulder in the One-day series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates in November last and was omitted from the central contracts list for 2012 but remained active in domestic Twenty20 to keep him fit and maintain his form. He is currently in England, where he is playing limited-over cricket for Leicestershire.
Younus Khan and one-day captain Misbah-ul-Haq were axed from the probables list. Batsman Imran Nazir, who last played for Pakistan in February 2010, has impressed in domestic Twenty20 this year. He had finished as the second-highest run-getter in Pakistan's Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup, scoring 191 at 47.75 with a strike-rate of 172 for Sialkot Stallions. He was also second on the run charts in the Bangladesh Premier League with 390 runs for Dhaka Gladiators, at an average of 43.33 and a strike-rate of 156.
Younus was not considered due to his poor form while Misbah, who earlier desired to play World Twenty20 Cup, was not included. Nasir Jamshed also made come back after recovering from injury while Awais Zia, Ahmed Shahzad, Khalid Latif, Shahzaib Hasan, Imran Nazir, Sharjeel Khan have also been included as openers in 30 probables.
Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Rameez Raja Junior named as middle-order batsmen while Shahid Afridi, Hammad Azam and Abdul Razzaq selected as all-rounders category. Sarfraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal and Shakeel Ansar announced in wicketkeeping department.
Umar Gul, M Sami, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema and Anwar Ali were selected as pace bowlers while Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman and Raza Hassan as spinners. The final list of 16-member team will be announced later after shortlisting the players.
Probables: M Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Khalid Latif, Nasir Jamshaid, Imran Nazir, Shahzaib Hasan, Awais Zia, Sharjeel Khan, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Rameez Raja, Shahid Khan Afridi, Hammad Azam, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, M Sami, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Anwar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Raza Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Shakeel Ansar.