2nd ODI: Depleted Pakistan to take on hosts

Younus Khan leaves national squad to attend nephew’s funeral.

KARACHI:

Things continued to get worse for Pakistan on the tour of Sri Lanka as the national team will now be without the services of veteran batsman Younus Khan for the second ODI to be played on Tuesday in Hambantota.

Younus will play no further part in Pakistan’s one-day series in Sri Lanka, following the death of his 10-year-old nephew.

He had already returned to Pakistan on Monday after his nephew Saad Khan died while having a liver transplant in India.



The 36-year-old Younus had made only three runs in Pakistan’s four-wicket win in the first ODI in Hambantota on Saturday.

Saad’s body was expected to reach Pakistan on Monday, and will be flown to the family’s hometown in the country’s north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the funeral will be held.

Younus staged a comeback in Pakistan’s one-day squad after being dropped in March last year.

Pakistan were already short on experienced players in the limited overs series, as Saeed Ajmal is in Australia for tests after his bowling action was declared suspicious during the Test matches.

The only positive aspect for the tourists going into second ODI is that they are leading the series 1-0 after a terrific retaliation led by Sohaib Maqsood and Fawad Alam while chasing a 275-run total in a 45-over match.

No call for replacement by team management

There are no injury concerns for the team management, and they have also decided against calling a replacement for Younus as by the time he will be flown to Sri Lanka, the second one-dayer would end and only the third and final match will be left.

“There is no use of requesting a replacement for Younus because the tour is about to end and we’ve got players on the bench who can fill in,” a team management official told The Express Tribune.

“Several options are available to us in left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, opener Sharjeel Khan and all-rounder Anwar Ali.”

Meanwhile, former Test Cricket Basit Ali said that the team management should include Sharjeel Khan in the playing eleven.

“In my view, Sharjeel should be played as an opener,” said Basit. “Moreover, Mohammad Hafeez should come and bat at number three as he has been doing in the past so that it doesn’t disturb the batting combination much.”

“I’m not in favour of Zulfiqar against this Sri Lankan batting line-up, because they have left-handers to deal with him. He remains a top bowler, but there is no use playing him against so many left-handers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2014.

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