Friday, April 25, 2025
10:53 AM
Doha,Qatar
Shahid Afridi and Ahmed Shehzad

Pakistan drop Afridi, Shehzad from England tour

Pakistan's new selectors Monday dropped star players Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal from next month's tour of England, stressing there would be no compromises after the country's disastrous exit from the World Twenty20 in India.

Former Afghanistan coach Inzamam-ul-Haq, who is heading up the newly formed selection committee as part of wholesale changes following last month's tournament humiliation, announced 35 players would attend boot camp starting in Kakul from May 14 to June 4.

He 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 at a news conference in Lahore.

As for Shehzad and Umar, he said, ‘the selection committee will not compromise on discipline’.

Shehzad was declared best batsman of the Pakistan Cup one-day tournament which ended on Sunday, scoring 372 runs, but along with Umar has been involved in various disciplinary breaches.

Former Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis -- who resigned in early April -- had also recommended dropping Shehzad and Umar.

Spot-fixing convict Salman Butt was also not selected.

‘Butt 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.

Butt is also likely to face issues with obtaining a visa to England -- though another spot-fixing convict, Mohammad Amir, was included in the squad as he is expected to get the visa after pleading guilty in a UK court.

Butt, Amir and Mohammad Asif were caught in a spot-fixing case on Pakistan's last tour of England in 2010, taking money for no-balls during the Lord's Test.

Their five-year ban ended in September last year.

Pakistan will play four Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international on a two-month long tour of England.

Squad named for boot camp: Mohammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Iftikhar Ahmed, 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 Asgher, Imad Wasim, Bilal Asif, Zohaib Khan

 

 

Comments
  • There are no comments.

Add Comments

B1Details

Latest News

SPORT

Canada's youngsters set stage for new era

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.

1:43 PM February 26 2017
TECHNOLOGY

A payment plan for universal education

Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education

11:46 AM December 14 2016
CULTURE

10-man Lekhwiya leave it late to draw Rayyan 2-2

Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions

7:10 AM November 26 2016
ARABIA

Yemeni minister hopes 48-hour truce will be maintained

The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged

10:30 AM November 27 2016
ARABIA

QM initiative aims to educate society on arts and heritage

Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.

10:55 PM November 27 2016
ARABIA

Qatar, Indonesia to boost judicial ties

The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.

10:30 AM November 28 2016
ECONOMY

Sri Lanka eyes Qatar LNG to fuel power plants in ‘clean energy shift’

Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.

10:25 AM November 12 2016
B2Details
C7Details