Cricket: Selection committee meets in Lahore

Squad for Bangladesh series to be announced soon, says Ilyas.

LAHORE: The selection committee met at the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) headquarters in Lahore as it aims to finalise the squad for the Bangladesh tour, which is due to start from November 29.

Pakistan are currently playing against Sri Lanka in the UAE and will tour Bangladesh after their full-fledged series comes to an end with a one-off Twenty20 on November 25 in Abu Dhabi.

Interim chief selector Mohammad Ilyas said the team announcement will be made soon.

“We’ve held the meeting and the team announcement will be made in a couple of days,” Ilyas told The Express Tribune. “I cannot say anything regarding team selection right now.”

While Ilyas, who took over the role as chief selector after Mohsin Khan was appointed interim head coach, refrained from giving details, sources suggested that new blood will be tested for the Bangladesh series.

With Pakistan doing well against the higher-ranked Sri Lankans so far, winning the Test series 1-0 and going into the third One-Day International (ODI) with the series level, selectors are aiming to test some young players in the upcoming tour of Bangladesh where the two sides will contest a Twenty20, three ODIs and two Tests.

Star performers from the domestic circuit as well as players from the victorious Saarc under-25 team are likely to be picked, with
batsman Usman Salahuddin and fast-bowler Sadaf Hussian being tipped to get the nod.

Umar Amin, also sidelined from the squad, has had a good run in the domestic circuit and is hoping for a recall in the national team.

Riaz, Akmal’s future uncertain

Meanwhile, the future of fast-bowler Wahab Riaz and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal remains uncertain. Riaz was dropped from the limited-overs leg of the Sri Lanka series while Akmal was overlooked after the World Cup, where Pakistan lost to eventual winners India in the semi-final.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th,  2011.