Sri Lanka series: Umar Akmal axed from Test squad

Fast-bowling duo of Gul, Riaz recalled, Sohail Tanvir excluded.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has excluded middle-order batsman Umar Akmal from the 15-man Test squad announced for the series against Sri Lanka.

The selection committee recalled fast-bowling duo of Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz for the series, which will be held in the UAE, but dropped Akmal who has been a regular member of the side in the longer version following his ‘unimpressive performance’.

Left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir will also miss out on the three-match Test series that begins on October 18 in Abu Dhabi. Former captain Shoaib Malik and opener Imran Farhat, both part of the squad that toured Zimbabwe, were also included.

The PCB Chief Selector Mohsin Khan, while announcing the squad, said performance in both domestic and international cricket was considered and no experiments were being carried out on this tour.

“Sri Lanka are tough opponents and the squad has been selected accordingly,” Mohsin told reporters at the National Stadium. “We have picked the best from the pool of players available.”

On Akmal’s exclusion, the chief selector said the performance of the batsman had dropped sharply.

“No doubt he’s a talented player but he’s hasn’t been performing well in the longer version.

“We closely monitor performance at both levels and we’ve also managed to form a good backup of players because of our policy of injecting new blood in the team.”

Aizaz Cheema, who impressed during the Zimbabwe tour, also retained his place in the team that will be led by Misbahul Haq. However, fast-bowler Tanvir Ahmed, who was a part of the national team against the West Indies, continued to be overlooked but has been included among the reserve players.

However, the chief selector refused to give a time frame for the announcement of squads for the One-Day International and Twenty20 series that follow the Tests against Sri Lanka.

Razzaq to lead in HK Super Sixes

The chief selector also named all-rounder Abdul Razzaq the Pakistan captain for the Hong Kong Super Sixes tournament that will start on October 28. However, Akmal, along with newcomer Rameez Raja will feature in the Hong Kong tournament.

Pakistan’s Test Squad

Misbahul Haq, Younus Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Cheema, Adnan Akmal, Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Junaid Khan, Imran Farhat and Abdul Rehman

Reserves: Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Talha, Yasir Shah, Sarfraz Ahmed

Squad for Hong Kong

Abdul Razzaq, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Rameez Raja, Hammad Azam, Yasir Shah, Sharjeel Khan

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2011.