Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test captain Inzamamul Haq, Wednesday recalled batsmen Ahmad Shahzad and Kamran Akmal for a four-match Twenty20 and three-match one-day international series in the West Indies starting later this month. Kamran has been recalled to the national team after three years while Shahzad after a year. Azhar Ali, who stepped down as ODI captain after losing a series 4-1 in Australia in January, has been dropped. The selection committee has also called up five uncapped players while fast bowler Mohammad Amir has been rested for the T20 format only. The limited overs squads will be led by Sarfraz Ahmad, who will also keep wicket. The first Twenty20 is in Barbados on March 26. The remaining three matches will be played in Port of Spain on March 30, April 1 and 2. The one-day matches are scheduled for April 7, 9 and 11 – all in Guyana.

Both Kamran and Shahzad have earned their recalls on the back of solid performances in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the United Arab Emirates where they played for opposing sides in the final. Kamran, 35, last featured for Pakistan during the 2014 World T20 and has not been in contention for the national side since his central contract was cut the same year. He was, however, prolific on the domestic circuit in the 2014-15 season, scoring 900 first-class runs at 52.94 and 576 List A runs at 52.36. In the subsequent year, he made 480 first-class runs at 60 and 576 List A runs at 72. He was the top-scorer with 1035 runs at 79.61 in the recent first-class season and was the leading run-scorer in the second edition of the PSL with a tally of 353. Shahzad, 25, has not been part of the Pakistan team since the 2016 World T20 due to disciplinary issues. He fought his way back into contention after hitting three hundreds in the departmental One-day Cup, amassing 653 runs at an average of 93.28 earlier this year. He combined a number of low scores with a few impressive knocks in this year’s PSL and did enough to restore the selectors’ faith in him. With Pakistan searching for openers after the PSL spot-fixing scandal, Shahzad has been given another opportunity.

These squads were picked from a pool of 32 players who were in Lahore for a training camp and the chief selector told media that only one of them failed to pass a fitness test. Pakistan’s head coach Mickey Arthur himself had put the players through the paces at the National Cricket Academy and has been very vocal about his men being at the peak of their physical ability. Inzamam said that in addition to recalls for some seniors, younger newcomers were also being given a chance. “We have given more chances to the young players who are doing well at the domestic level,” said Inzamam. “The squads were also weighed on fitness and that’s why Umar Akmal failed to get a place for lack of fitness,” he said, referring to Kamran’s younger brother. Inzamam was sympathetic to Azhar’s cause as well and said the former ODI captain remained a part of their long-term plans. “He is still in our loop for upcoming Champions Trophy in England where, considering the conditions, we probably will need our senior batsmen. But for now we wanted to encourage our junior players who can have a future with Pakistan.”

Leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan, only 18, impressed selectors with his performances in the PSL to get a berth in both squads. Left-handed batsman Fakhar Zaman, 26, is also rewarded for his domestic performances, while 23-year-old all-rounder Fahim Ashraf, the best player in last year’s National One-day Cup, has been included in the 50-over squad. Domestic veteran Asif Zakir, who has been playing first-class cricket for 14 years and has 123 matches under his belt, has been trusted to translate that experience on the ODI stage. “These young players are equally good and they are going to play international cricket for the country,” Inzamam said. “So they need to play at the highest level at some stage and I have full faith in them. They will perform, and conditions in the West Indies, we all know are similar to the ones in subcontinent and the West Indies team isn’t like the one in the 70s, 80s or even from the 90s. But still if they face tough competition there, this will obviously help them to develop.”

For the T20Is, selectors have picked left-arm quicks for the T20s with Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Usman Khan, who had debuted in 2013, and Rumman Raees, who was part of the previous Pakistan squad that played West Indies in the UAE in 2016. Hasan Ali offers the option of variation. The limited over series will be followed by three Tests for which a squad will be announced later. Giant fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan and batsmen Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were all excluded from both squads because they are suspended pending an investigation into alleged spot-fixing that took place in the PSL. The trio were teammates for former champions Islamabad United.

Squads:

T20I squad: Sarfraz Ahmad (captain) Ahmad Shahzad, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Rumman Raees and Usman Shinwari.

ODI squad: Sarfraz Ahmad (captain), Ahmad Shahzad, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Asif Zakir, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Fahim Ashraf and Junaid Khan.