Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan has announced a 15 man squad for their upcoming clash against the Proteas at UAE, but hasn’t yet announced a captain. Pakistan will take on South Africa in two T20I and five ODI starting from October 26th, 2010 at UAE; with Abu Dhabi and Dubai being the assigned venues.
The non announcement of a captain for the tour has already given rise to speculations and murmurs doing rounds in the media of a possible disharmony caused in the team owing to Afridi’s leadership. Pakistani cricket chairman Ijaz Butt, was involved in a meeting at the Gadaffi Stadium and wasn’t available for any comment.
The other surprise is the return of 36 year old Misbah ul Haq, in the team. Misbah was dropped from Pakistan’s scheme of things after the winless and controversial whitewash at the hands of the Aussies, down under. But a good show at the domestic circuit, at the RBS Cup this year where he top scored with 490 runs at an average of 163.33 earned him a recall to the side to bolster the middle order.
Kamran Akmal has to sit out owing to an appendicitis operation, and after a valiant 88 in his debut, 24 year old Zulqarnain Haider earns a recall to the team. Akmal was put under a lot of suspicion after his several misses behind the stumps against Australia last year and would be glad to put some form back under his belt during this forced sabbatical.
Pakistan will have to miss the services of two key players Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir, who won’t be available for selection owing to their recent spot fixing controversy. Mohammad Aasif, the third suspended player wouldn’t have been available anyways as he is banned from entering UAE owing to prior case of possession of drugs.
In the management committee, Intikhab Alam returns as the team manager. Former captain and Test veteran Intikhab left the job after the infamous ‘Sydney Test’, after he had questioned the intentions of certain players in the team after their humiliating loss.
Tags: Abu Dhabi, Captain, Cricket, Dubai, Pakistan, PCB, South Africa, UAE
