Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test skipper Inzamamul Haq, on Monday ignored in-form opener Kamran Akmal but included three uncapped players in a 15-member squad named for next month’s three-match Twenty20 international series against the West Indies in Karachi. Sarfraz Ahmad will captain the hosts in the matches played in Karachi on April 1, 2 and 3 – the first ties between international sides to take place in the port city since 2009.

The selectors have rewarded Hussain Talat, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Asif Ali for their impressive performances in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League 2018. All-rounder Talat and middle-order batsman Asif were part of the Islamabad United side that defeated Peshawar Zalmi in the final of the Pakistan Super League at National Stadium Karachi on Sunday night. Both performed admirably throughout the tournament but Asif made bigger headlines, thanks to his match-winning 26-run clutch cameo in the title-deciding match. Shaheen, meanwhile, was one of the few bright spots of another miserable campaign for Lahore Qalandars. The 17-year-old pacer bowled arguably the spell of the tournament when he took five wickets for just four runs in a match against Multan Sultans.

But there is no place in the national outfit for veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran, who had an excellent PSL tournament except the final, where he scored a solitary run and dropped a crucial catch. Despite notching 425 runs in 13 PSL matches, including a century and four half-centuries for Peshawar Zalmi, the 36-year-old Kamran has missed out. The selection committee did not include him due to his age and poor fielding. Left-arm fast bowlers Rahat Ali and Usman Khan have been back into the fray while Imad Wasim and Rumman Raees have also missed out, having failed to recover from their injuries in time. Imad sustained a concussion after his head slammed into the ground after completing a catch, while Raees trod on a ball on the boundary and damaged knee ligaments. Ahmad Shahzad has kept his place at the top of the order, while Shoaib Malik, who missed the second half of the tour to New Zealand with concussion after being struck on the head by a wayward throw, has also returned. “We have included Talat, Asif and Shaheen in the squad primarily for their performances in the PSL,” said Inzamam. “Imad and Raees are still recovering from injuries so were not included,” he added. Head coach Mickey Arthur was all praise for 17-year-old Shaheen. “Shaheen is an exciting and amazing talent and I am sure after a few years he will be a star,” said Arthur of Shaheen, who hails from the northwestern tribal district of Khyber bordering Afghanistan.

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmad (captain), Ahmad Shahzad, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Usman Khan Shinwari and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Published in Daily Times, March 27^th 2018.