Hameed, Taufiq, Sami and Wahab recalled for camp
National selection committee announces names of 36 probables .
Mohammad Sami is among those named for the national training camp, which will be the basis for the preparations of the upcoming international assignments. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
The national selection committee recalled Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz and Taufiq Umar as it announced names of the 36 probables for the month-long summer camp, which will be held at the National Stadium, Karachi.
The camp will begin on May 6 under the supervision of chief selector Moin Khan and National Cricket Academy head coach and selector Mohammad Akram. The players will be made to undergo extensive training in order to achieve high levels of fitness.
Moin led the first meeting of the newly formed selection committee, which includes Ejaz Ahmed, Shoaib Mohammad, Saleem Yousuf and Wajahatullah Wasti as well.
“This is the first phase of the camp where we’ve named the best players keeping in mind their current form and past track record,” Moin told reporters at the National Stadium.
“The focus of the camp will be to improve fitness standards of all these players as they take part in two sessions daily. Fitness has been our main concern and thus we want to utilize this off-season to address the issue. The second phase of the camp will be held after Eid, where we’ll call a pool of young upcoming players.”
A total of eight openers have been announced for the camp; Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshaid, Sharjeel Khan, Taufiq Umer, Shan Masood, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed and Khurram Manzoor.
The middle-order batsmen are Misbahul Haq, Asad Shafiq, Younus Khan, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Faisal Iqbal, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail and Fawad Alam.
The all-rounders’ category is made up of Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti, while the spinners in the camp are Abdul Rehman, Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hasan, Atif Maqbool and Yasir Shah.
Umar Gul will lead the pack of pacers that also has Mohammad Talha, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Sami.
Meanwhile, only two wicket-keepers have been selected for the camp; Sarfaraz Ahmed and Adnan Akmal. Kamran Akmal was overlooked after his lacklustre performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup and World Twenty20.
Other big names missing from the list are that of former skipper Shoaib Malik and Abdur Razzaq, while Junaid Khan and Saeed Ajmal have not been included as they will be competing in the county cricket in England at the time of the camp.
‘This is our main pool’
Moin stressed that this will be Pakistan’s main core of players who will be considered for upcoming assignments such as the series against Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and eventually the 2015 ODI World Cup.
“This camp is the first initiative to tackle the challenges ahead, may it be the series against different countries or the upcoming world cup,” he said. “This will remain our core but that doesn’t mean that we’ve closed the doors on Kamran, Malik and Razzaq.
“We provided them with the opportunity but they failed to capitalise on their chances.
“Doors are open for everyone; if Younus Khan performs well in Test cricket, then he certainly can force us to consider him for one-day selection as well.”
Responding to a question regarding the change in captaincy in the one-day format, the former wicket-keeper stated that discussions had taken place on the subject but none have been conclusive.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2014.
The national selection committee recalled Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz and Taufiq Umar as it announced names of the 36 probables for the month-long summer camp, which will be held at the National Stadium, Karachi.
The camp will begin on May 6 under the supervision of chief selector Moin Khan and National Cricket Academy head coach and selector Mohammad Akram. The players will be made to undergo extensive training in order to achieve high levels of fitness.
Moin led the first meeting of the newly formed selection committee, which includes Ejaz Ahmed, Shoaib Mohammad, Saleem Yousuf and Wajahatullah Wasti as well.
“This is the first phase of the camp where we’ve named the best players keeping in mind their current form and past track record,” Moin told reporters at the National Stadium.
“The focus of the camp will be to improve fitness standards of all these players as they take part in two sessions daily. Fitness has been our main concern and thus we want to utilize this off-season to address the issue. The second phase of the camp will be held after Eid, where we’ll call a pool of young upcoming players.”
A total of eight openers have been announced for the camp; Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshaid, Sharjeel Khan, Taufiq Umer, Shan Masood, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed and Khurram Manzoor.
The middle-order batsmen are Misbahul Haq, Asad Shafiq, Younus Khan, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Faisal Iqbal, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail and Fawad Alam.
The all-rounders’ category is made up of Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti, while the spinners in the camp are Abdul Rehman, Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hasan, Atif Maqbool and Yasir Shah.
Umar Gul will lead the pack of pacers that also has Mohammad Talha, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Sami.
Meanwhile, only two wicket-keepers have been selected for the camp; Sarfaraz Ahmed and Adnan Akmal. Kamran Akmal was overlooked after his lacklustre performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup and World Twenty20.
Other big names missing from the list are that of former skipper Shoaib Malik and Abdur Razzaq, while Junaid Khan and Saeed Ajmal have not been included as they will be competing in the county cricket in England at the time of the camp.
‘This is our main pool’
Moin stressed that this will be Pakistan’s main core of players who will be considered for upcoming assignments such as the series against Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and eventually the 2015 ODI World Cup.
“This camp is the first initiative to tackle the challenges ahead, may it be the series against different countries or the upcoming world cup,” he said. “This will remain our core but that doesn’t mean that we’ve closed the doors on Kamran, Malik and Razzaq.
“We provided them with the opportunity but they failed to capitalise on their chances.
“Doors are open for everyone; if Younus Khan performs well in Test cricket, then he certainly can force us to consider him for one-day selection as well.”
Responding to a question regarding the change in captaincy in the one-day format, the former wicket-keeper stated that discussions had taken place on the subject but none have been conclusive.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2014.