Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test captain Inzamamul Haq, on Monday dropped opener Ahmad Shahzad and wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal from a probables list named for a national camp for the upcoming tour of England. The duo, involved in a number of controversies, have been shown the door owing to their indiscipline and poor recent form. All-rounder Shahaid Afridi, batsman Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif also could not find their names in the list of 35 probables. The training camp will be set up in Kakul, Abbotabad to start preparations for the tough tour from July where Pakistan will play four Tests, five one-day internationals and one off T20 match. “Shahzad and Umar have not been included in the training camp taking into view their past disciplinary record,” Inzamam told reporters during a news conference here at the Gaddafi Stadium. “Neither is their discipline good nor their recent performances consistent and impressive,” he maintained.

Former Afghanistan coach Inzamam, who is heading up the newly formed selection committee as part of wholesale changes following the Asia Cup and World Twenty20 humiliation, said the camp would be held from May 14 to June 4. Inzamam added he had spoken to all the selectors and other stakeholders of Pakistan cricket and also gone through the reports of the former coach and manager before taking the decision to drop Shahzad and Umar from the camp. Inzamam also announced that senior player Mohammad Hafeez would be allowed to join the camp subject to his fitness report. The selectors have also dropped left-arm pacer Mohammad Irfan from the camp and he will only be considered for T20 cricket after looking at his fitness condition.

“Let me make one thing clear that this selection committee is totally independent. The board gives us guidelines but in the end it is our decision on who to select and who not to select,” the former star batsman said. Inzamam made it clear that time had come to be firm on disciplinary issues. “We now have to ensure there is no compromise on discipline if we are to move forward. I also call on the media to support us in our decisions,” he added. Former coach Waqar Younis, in his report, strongly recommended that Umar be dropped from the team while he was also critical about Shahzad’s attitude and discipline. Even after last year’s World Cup Waqar and captain Misbahul Haq had recommended to the board to drop both players.

Replying a question regarding Afridi, Inzamam said Afridi – who announced he would continue playing the Twenty20 format after resigning as captain in the wake of the event – needed to perform in domestic matches. “Since we are playing only four Twenty20 matches this year we want to give new players a chance, and that will also allow Afridi to rest and perform in domestic matches.” Inzamam said the selection committee had also not considered opener Salman for the camp since he had not played in a first class tournament as yet since his ban for spot-fixing expired last September. “Salman has not played four-day cricket since his ban was lifted so we need to assess him in longer formats before selecting him,” said Inzamam. The chief selector also defended the selection of senior batsman Younus Khan despite his recent decision to walk out of the Pakistan Cup One-day Tournament after a dispute with match officials. “Younus’ case is not in domain of the selection committee. Younus was penalised and fined by the match referee and then he later on also apologised to the cricket board. So he is free to be selected as far as the board is concerned,” he added.

Inzamam further said the training camp would be followed by a 10 to 15 day break. “The players will then participate in a skill camp which will take place two weeks before the tour to England.”

Inzamam also named 25 probables for Pakistan A’s tour of England scheduled from June 23 to July 25. The selection committee has laid out a policy of only picking players aged 30 or less in the A team. The rule has quashed the Test captain Misbahul Haq’s intention of touring England with the A team ahead of the senior team’s tour. “We have a policy that nobody above 30 will be selected for Pakistan A,” Inzamam said. “If he has a good performance in first-class cricket and we think he is a good player we will send him to Pakistan camp so that he can play for Pakistan. The whole selection committee thinks that young players who have done well in first-class cricket should be promoted. We won’t consider players who have gone on more than 4-5 Pakistan A tours.” Nepotism has been a major talking point in Pakistan cricket recently, and Inzamam said he would not give any room for it when the topic of his nephew Imamul Haq came up. Imam recently came into the Islamabad side – filling in for Misbah, who had left the team for a pilgrimage to Mecca – and scored a century in his first game in the Pakistan Cup. Imam did not find a place either in the Pakistan training camp or among the Pakistan A probables. “I am not going to give any favour and will also not do any injustice. Imam hasn’t scored many runs in this season and I have not selected him. That should be the way,” he concluded.

Probables for training camp: Mohammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Azhar Ali, Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Khalid Latif, Fawad Alam, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Asif Zakir, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Adnan Akmal, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Asghar, Imad Wasim, Bilal Asif and Zohaib Khan.

Probables for Pakistan A tour of England: Fakhar Zaman, Jihad Ali, Mohammad Waqas, Zain Abbas, Israrullah, Umar Amin (subject to fitness), Abdul Rehman Muzammil, Saud Shakil, Abid Ali, Umar Siddique, Mohammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf, Amir Yamin, Mohammad Abbas, Azizullah, Mir Hamza, Ahmed Jamal, Imad Butt, Ziaul Haq, Saifullah Bangash, Mohammad Hasan, Usama Mir, Shadab Khan, Hidayatullah and Zafar Gohar.