LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finalized the 15-member team for series against Australia and T20 World Championship, Geo News reported. PCB sources said that opening batsman Ahmad Shahzad has been dropped. Mohammad Hafeez (Captain), Kamran Akmal, Imran Nazir, Asad Shafique, Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaque, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanveer, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arfat, Raza Hassan and Shoaib Malik are included in the team, according to the sources. The official announcement of the team is expected this evening
Re: Pakistan's Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
Shehzaad, i wudnt like to see him anyway. Hammad; poor guy is becoming the 2nd razzaq but in totaally different way then i expected him.
Dunt need Sami and to be honest Gul wud suck too (for most part)
Re: Pakistan’s Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
Imran Nazir is a welcome addition - lets hope he does more justice to his talent this time around. Razzaq for me is a flawed selection - he is well past his best and should not be selected ahead of Hammad Azam at all costs. Hammad is young, has ability and if he would get even half of the recalls Razzaq has gotten, Hammad would be a match winner by now.
Also dont agree with the selection of Sami and Tanvir ahead of Junaid. Junaid is clearly the best fast bowler we have and should be the first to be penned down when they make the final 11 before a match, the likes of Gul, Sami, Tanvir can be the 2nd seamer in the team but Junaid should always be the first seamer selected.
Ahmed Shehzad is unlucky to miss out - he has a lot of talent, in fact can probably be opening in ODIs and T20s for years to come.
Finally, good call by the PCB to announce Hafeez as T20 Captain till the end of the year - that should shut up the media’s darling “Boom-Boom-Flop-Flop” Afridi as his Captaincy aspirations.
Re: Pakistan's Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
No Junaid Khan after all that he did in the recent Sri Lanka series. No Hammad Azam. I think with T20 cricket you could easily have Umar Akmal keep and add an extra genuine batsmen. No chance for this team in T20 cricket. Made up of old have been players...Razzaq, Malik, Nazir, Sami and Kamran Akmal. Good team to bet against for sure.
Re: Pakistan's Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
This selection committee really looks like they are in the pockets of the ruling political party or some majorly powerful politicians. Sad to see cricket end up in their controls. This team sure does suck.
Re: Pakistan’s Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
You can count few teams against whom Imran Nazir is likely to perform “brilliantly” then we will see his usual self. Sami I can easily pick Hammad over Sami.
Re: Pakistan’s Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
Youth put on hold
The message from Pakistan’s selectors in picking their squad for the Australia series and the World Twenty20 seems to be a green signal for tried and tested hands and an amber light for promising youth. The most bizarre omission is that of Junaid Khan, who, in his brief career, has made a name for himself in Tests and has been making strides in limited-overs cricket as well. He’s been passed over for Mohammad Sami but, given Sami’s inconsistency, could have been a more effective complement to Umar Gul. Junaid, still in his second year of international cricket, bounced back from a heel injury to pick up 14 wickets - including two five-fors - in the recent Tests against Sri Lanka.Also to suffer is the highly-rated allrounder Hammad Azam, who has lost out to Abdul Razzaq. Azam seemed to have answered the selectors’ call for a new allrounder in 2010, when he was picked in the national squad for the World T20, but his growth has been hampered by inconsistent selection. Razzaq’s last appearance for Pakistan was in November 2011, after which he was overlooked on grounds of form and fitness. He was not handed a central contract recently, so his recall raises more questions over the selectors’ rationale.
And Ahmed Shahzad, 20, appeared to be in the selectors’ Twenty20 plans before the Sri Lanka tour but has now lost his place to Imran Nazir - who will be making his fourth T20 comeback for Pakistan since 2007. Nazir was last recalled in 2010, for the series against England in the UAE, but was sent back to the fringes after scoring 2 and 4.
**Umar Farooq
Sami instead of Junaid
Razzaq instead of Hammad
Nazir instead of Ahmed Shahzad
Re: Pakistan's Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
Not surprised, the selectors don't have a clue!
Selecting Imran Nazir (deserves to be picked on the basis of his recent performances in BPL and Faisal Bank domestic T20 tournament plus he is an excellent fielder) and Razzaq (deserves his place until someone better than him emerges. Hammad is not quite there yet imo. Razzaq still a better batter and bowler than him) the right decision IMO.
Disappointed that Ahmed Shehzad was not selected but after reading the above (attitude/disciplinary issues) and seeing that we have Nasir Jamshed, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal and Asad I can digest that.
BUT
Why on earth are the selectors ignoring Hammad Azam? His bowling is crap but I would have still picked him over Yasir Arafat (useless batsman, useless bowler, useless fielder, just a domestic trundler these days) and
Junaid (did well in SLA let alone the fact that the stupid T20 WC is being held there in September and he should have been an automatic choice) over Sami (What is Iqbal Qasim's love affair with him? pathetic selection to say the least)
Re: Pakistan's Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
I dont know why Sami has been preferred over Junaid. I just cannot digest it.. What has Sami done to justify his selection? He was abysmal in ODI series against Lankans, Junaid performed really well against Lankans.. Its just common sense.
Re: Pakistan's Squad for Aussies T20 series and WC T20
Iqbal Qasim hails from Karachi and even when he was not a selector he use to Sami deserves another chance and now he is a selector and i cant see sami dropping from the squad now
