Hafeez has struggled for runs in 2013 which has cost him his place in the Test side. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Hafeez, 32, had a poor series in Zimbabwe, managing only 59 runs in four innings in Harare. A tour to South Africa earlier in the year returned only 43 runs as the team were white-washed 3-0.
Pakistan are due to take on the Proteas in Abu Dhabi on October 14 in their first Test. The second and final Test starts in Dubai from October 23.
On the other hand, underfire Misbahul Haq was last week retained as Test and one-day side captain.
Other notable absentees from the side are batsmen Nasir Jamshed and Asad Shafiq, bowlers Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz.
Three more players are expected to join the squad following a three-day warm-up match between Pakistan 'A' side and South Africa in Sharjah starting from October 8.
Pakistan and South Africa will also play five one-day and two Twenty20 internationals, for which squads will be named later.
Squad: Misbahul Haq (captain), Khurram Manzoor, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Umar Amin, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Abdul Rehman, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali.
COMMENTS (15)
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its like the pcb have selected team in favour of south africa .
Hafeez is Good player but he need time , He will surely return. We need to look for captain now. we can't take this decision too near of world cup , Misbah is good player but now he should only be stick to Test matches.
@Bilal: We needed Umar Akmal!!!! Where is he? What are the selectors thinking? Not only Misbah but the selectors are at fault for not inclduing an aggressive player!!!
Bad team slection
Rahat ali and khurram manzoor are bad choices. Nasir Jamshed should have been in the team only he and misbah are capable of scoring a fifty.
Why nasir jamsheed in this squad, wo aik baslahiat player ha, plz us ko zaya mat karain
it is ridiculous that a taleny like umar akmal is being ignored.only pakistan can treat its best batsman like this.
@Ali K:
As much as Farhat is chastised, he opted to pull out due to a debilitating illness being suffered by his wife. Again, him being in the team or not would be of no consequence! We pure and simply suck.
Thank God, Sir Imran Farhat is still given rest.
@Bilal:
Good point on our batsmen inability to play pedestrian spinners but the problem is that we even tend to turn pedestrian fast bowlers like Kulasekra, Bryan Vitori and Mopufu into Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thompson and Glenn McGrath! Dale Steyn is just gonna crank up his career numbers big time in this series.
Where is Umar Akmal? But what do I know, I am only a woman!
Half job done and now the selectors should bring someone who has got talent and more importantly has got guts to take the bull by horns,not someone who will tremble in front of Dale Steyn,thinking about his place in the team.Our guys can bat but truth is they don't have confidence.Any one could read their faces and tell they are frightened about their places in the team.I mean look at Ahmed Shahzad,that guy can hit the ball like anything yet he stops almost every ball in ODIs just because he is too much inclined on following Captain's strategy and playing defensively. I know PCB is thinking to make turning tracks for SA but we should have known this thing that all our batsmen including Misbah are simply pathetic against spin bowling.In recent past our batsmen have not been able to play good against pedestrian spinners like Paul Harris and Herath.Swann,Monte Panesar,Nathan Hauritz,all of them have taken wickets against Pakistan. If we don't want to be embarrassed against SA,than we will have to play aggressive cricket otherwise it will again be Dale Steyn 5 for 6.
Hafeez or no Hafeez! The fact is that South Africa would be finishing off both test matches against us inside three days.
We needed Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, and Muhammad Rizwan in the team - they are not in even A team. Need a fast bowler/batsman at #8 to shorten tail. Need to keep Misbah as a batsman not captain. But what do I know!!
The way media is reporting it seems that as if Hafeez is some Bradman or Miandad or Viv Richards. So his rejection is a big news. The guy is hardly an ordinary batsman, his average is minimal and bats with pathetic test technique. Please don't ridicule standard of Pakistan cricket by giving this guy so much coverage.