Pakistani selectors on Wednesday dropped faltering wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal from the one-day and Twenty20 squad for this month’s tour of the West Indies and rested senior players.
Kamran, Younis, Razzaq dropped
The 29-year-old was criticized for dropping crucial catches during the World Cup, where Pakistan lost in the semi-finals to arch rival India.
“We have given Kamran Akmal a break because his wicket-keeping was not up to the mark during the World Cup,” chief selector Mohsin Khan said.
“We think Kamran needs a rest.”
Local media said the wicket-keeper will also lose his Test place to younger brother Adnan Akmal, part of the Test team to New Zealand earlier this year.
Mohammad Salman, 29, will keep wicket in the Twenty20 and one-day matches.
Pakistan will play a Twenty20 international, five one-day games and two Tests on the month-long tour, starting from April 18.
Khan said the tour gives Pakistan an opportunity to test new players.
“We have chosen the team with a plan to try some youngsters who can serve Pakistan in the future,” said Khan. “Younis Khan and Umar Gul have been rested while Abdul Razzaq could not fit into the team.”
One-day skipper Shahid Afridi had hinted that senior players would be rested to give younger team members a chance, prompting Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul — all part of the World Cup squad — to be left out.
Afridi will not be part of the Test team after retiring from the longer version of the game last year.
Misbah-ul-Haq will lead Pakistan in the Tests, for which a squad will be announced later.
Among the newcomers is Usman Salahuddin, a 20-year-old right hander who scored 927 runs in the country’s premier first class tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, last season.
Aizaz Cheema is a right arm pacer, while Hammad Azam is an all-rounder who made Pakistan’s squad for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean last year, but did not play a match.
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