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Saqlain keeps his place in the 16-member squad: PCB selectors drop Afridi, Younis, Naveed for first Test in Multan

* Kamal, Misbah, Kaneria and Gul are back

By Muhammad Ali

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee on Thursday axed all-rounder Shahid Afridi, middle order batsman Younis Khan and all-rounder Rana Naveedul Hassan from a 16-man squad for the first Test against India starting on Sunday in Multan. They have been replaced by batsmen Asim Kamal and Misbahul Haq, leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and seamer Umar Gul. The selectors have retained off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

Saqlain was chosen for the one-day internationals but did not play a single match. Saqlain last played a Test match against Bangladesh last year. He has taken 207 wickets in 48 Test matches at an average of nearly 29 per wicket. Afridi, a hard-hitting opener, managed just 89 in the recent one-dayers against the tourists, while Younis also disappointed with a tally of 140 runs as India clinched the one-day series 3-2 on Wednesday. Kamal, a young left-hand batsman, scored 99 on his Test debut against South Africa in Lahore last year.

“We have given the team management the best available variety in attack for the first Test,” chief selector Wasim Bari said in a statement. “The Test squad has two good spinners in Saqlain and Kaneria and five frontline pacers. It is a balanced squad which will help us overcome the defeat in the one-dayers. We have given the team enough options for the Test match,” he added.

Captain Inzamamul Haq said: “The wickets for one-dayers are nowadays tailor-made for batsmen, but I think we will play on different tracks in the Test matches and they will help bowlers. If Saqlain fits in the team’s combination, he will definitely play. Inzamam admitted that India – playing their first Test series on Pakistan soil in 14 years – have gained a psychological advantage after their first ever victory in the shorter version of the game in Pakistan in six attempts. “India are must be in high spirits, but we didn’t play badly in the one-day games and our players are confident to do well in the five-day games.” The team for the remaining two Tests will be named later. The second Test will be played in Lahore from April 5 and the third in Rawalpindi from April 13.

India have already announced their Test squad for the three-match series with experienced leg-spinner Anil Kumble, medium-pacer Ajit Agarkar and opener Aakash Chopra, who joined the team yesterday on their arrival from India. India are yet to win a Test match in Pakistan ever since their first tour of the country in 1978-79.

Pakistan squad: Inzamamul Haq (captain), Yousuf Youhana, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Misbahul Haq, Asim Kamal, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmad, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria.

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