Selectors, coach mull over squad options
Waqar, who has been in Karachi since the last weekend, has been following the action at the ongoing National T20 tournament at the National Stadium.
Chief selector and manager Moin Khan has also held a series of meetings with Waqar in the presence of fellow selectors Saleem Yousuf and Ijaz Ahmed. The selectors also met Shahid Afridi, the national T20 captain, on Sunday.
An official close to the matter disclosed that the selectors were considering accommodating youngsters such as Raza Hasan, Harris Sohail, Umar Amin and Bilawal Bhatti in the T20 and ODI squads.
Asad Shafiq, who was in fine form for Karachi Dolphins in their round matches, is likely to win back his place in the limited overs squads, or at least in one of the two formats.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who featured in two T20s and one ODI on a tour of Zimbabwe three years ago, is also expected to be included in the Test squad.
However, most of the discussions have centred around finalising a replacement for the suspended Saeed Ajmal.
While Hasan, a left arm-spinner, is in contention for limited overs cricket, Zulfiqar Babar, also a left-armer, is expected to win himself a berth in the Test format.
The squads will be announced on Tuesdat.
Square turners likely for Australia Tests
The team management, led by Younis, have asked the curators in the UAE to prepare square turners for the Test series against the Australians, with the two Tests being played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
In their last Test series in the sub-continent, held last year, the Aussies were defeated 4-0 by India.
With Ajmal unavailable and Pakistan’s fast-bowling resources running thin, the management believe that a turning wicket remains the best option for the hosts to upset the number one Test team in the world.
COMMENTS (3)
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Shahzaib Ahmed khan,leg spinner who plays for Karachi Zebra,should be selected for both test and one day squads.He is far superior in class than the like of Yasir Shah and others.
Why can't they wait for another week to select players on the basis of their most recent performance; they might find some shear talent from ongoing national T-20 cup.
Pakistan's strong point has always been its potent fast bowling attack. Ever since we have overlooked this department the team has been suffering. Its about time now that we revert back to our immense talent of genuine fast bowlers to give our team the edge over others.We must not forget that even when we had great fast bowlers in the shape of Imran, Wasim & Waqar world class spinners like Qadir, Mushtaq & Saqlain still made way into the team.