Probable line-up: Malik, Sami and Umar in contention for T20 squad

Trio expected to make comeback in series against Zimbabwe.

KARACHI: Former captain Shoaib Malik, along with discarded Umar Akmal and Muhammad Sami, have been shortlisted by the national selection committee, led by Haroon Rasheed, for the T20 squad of Pakistan against Zimbabwe.

It has been learnt that the selectors will announce the squads in different phases, with the T20 team to be named first followed by the ODI squad.

Umar, who was dropped due to below-par performances in the 2015 World Cup and for his poor behaviour, has been exceptional in the Super8 T20 Cup. He is the top-scorer with 181 runs from three matches, which came at an average of 181.00 aided with two half-centuries.

Meanwhile, Malik is not too far behind with 174 runs from four matches, as he too struck two fifties.

“Malik and Umar are strong contenders to make their comebacks in the T20 squad against Zimbabwe,” a selection committee member told The Express Tribune. “We need to beef up our batting and both batsmen have looked solid in the T20 tournament.”

He added that the selection committee will sit down with T20 skipper Shahid Afridi, who is returning from the UK, to discuss the team. “We’ll make the final call after talking to Afridi,” he said. “We will discuss the recall of Umar with head coach Waqar Younis as well.”

Both players were expected to improve their figures as Umar’s Lahore Lions and Malik’s Sialkot Stallions were up against each other in the final.

Sami may supplement bowling attack

Discarded pacer Muhammad Sami is included in the pool of players who have been shortlisted, as the selection committee is facing problems in the bowling department due to injuries and ace-spinner Saeed Ajmal not looking as effective as before with his remodelled action.



The 34-year-old Sami is still clocking up serious pace and took six wickets in three matches while playing for Karachi Dolphins. “Sami has bowled well and we’ll bring him up in our our discussion because we’ve been left short on the bowling front due to injuries,” said the official. “The likes of Muhammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Sohail Khan are not match-fit, while Umar Gul struggled on his comeback, which is why Sami is in the reckoning.”

Chief selector Haroon Rasheed explained that his committee is looking for both short-term and long-term goals and the players would be brought in on that basis. “As far as the senior players are concerned, Malik and Sami seem to be in good shape, but we’ll have a final meeting after the T20 final,” said Rasheed before adding that the likes of Bilal Asif and Usama Mir, who have done well recently, may also be considered. Sohaib Maqsood, Imran Khan and Saaed Ajmal are likely to be snubbed in the T20 squad.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th,  2015.

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