Kamran, Shehzad return as Pakistan drop Azhar for WI tour

KARACHI: National selectors gave a bit too much importance to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as they named the ODI and Twenty20 teams for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies primarily on the basis of the players’ performance in the T20 contest.

From the recalls of previously discarded duo of Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad to the inclusion of five uncapped players in the touring party, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and fellow selectors have relied heavily on the players’ stats in the PSL which concluded on March 5.

There, were, however some decisions that were not based on the PSL performance graph like the omission of fast bowler Sohail Khan – the league’s most successful bowler – but such calls were few and far between.

The key decision was the recall of Kamran Akmal, whose international career, many had believed, was done and dusted after his last axing almost three years ago. Then there was the inclusion of Ahmed Shehzad, the temperamental opening batsman, who fell out of favour after last year’s ICC World Twenty20 championship in India.

Both Kamran and Ahmed topped the list of PSL batters in the league’s second edition. Though they had also done well in domestic events at home in the lead up to the PSL, it was their heroics in the T20 league that finally earned them the selectors’ nod.

Apart from their recall the other highlights of Wednesday’s announcement was the inclusion of new faces — Fakhar Zaman, Roman Raees, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Faheem Ashraf and Asif Zakir.

Azhar Ali, who was axed as Pakistan’s ODI captain, was dropped from the squad while pacer Mohammad Amir was rested from the three-match T20 series against the West Indies.

Agencies add: Kamran, 35, last featured for Pakistan during the 2014 World T20 and has not been in contention for the national side since his central contract was cut the same year. He was, however, prolific on the domestic circuit in the 2014-15 season, scoring 900 first-class runs at 52.94 and 576 List A runs at 52.36. In the subsequent year, he made 480 first-class runs at 60 and 576 List A runs at 72. He was the top-scorer with 1035 runs at 79.61 in the recent first-class season and was the leading run-scorer in the second edition of Pakistan Super League with a tally of 353.

Shehzad, 25, has not been part of the Pakistan team since the 2016 World T20 due to disciplinary issues. He fought his way back into contention after hitting three hundreds in the departmental one-day cup, amassing 653 runs at an average of 93.28 earlier this year. He combined a number of low scores with a few impressive knocks in this year’s PSL and did enough to restore selectors’ faith in him. With Pakistan searching for openers after Sharjeel Khan’s suspension for his involvement in alleged corruption in the PSL, Shehzad has been given another opportunity.

These squads were picked from a pool of 32 players who were in Lahore for a training camp and Inzamam said only one of them failed to pass a fitness test - Umar Akmal. Pakistan’s head coach Mickey Arthur himself had put the players through the paces at the National Cricket Academy and has been very vocal about his men being at the peak of their physical ability.

“We had a set a fitness standard which isn’t really a tough one to start with,” Inzamam said. “But he still didn’t meet the average level. So whoever the player is, whatever his performance is like, we could not select him. Umar being dropped is a reprimand and it’s a major blow for any player. He is a good player, we needed him, but we have to take a decision.”

Inzamam was sympathetic to Azhar’s cause as well and said the former ODI captain remained a part of their long-term plans. “He is still in our loop for Champions Trophy in England where considering the conditions we probably will get our senior batsmen. But for now we wanted to encourage our junior players who can have a future with Pakistan.”

Leading the uncapped players were batsman Fakhar Zaman and legspinner Shadab Khan. They were both highly impressive in the PSL and found a place in the squads for both limited-overs formats. Domestic veteran Asif Zakir, who has been playing first-class cricket for 14 years and has 123 matches under his belt, has been trusted to translate that experience on the ODI stage. Rounding off the uncapped roster were left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar and allrounder Fahim Ashraf.

“These young players are equally good and they are going to play international cricket for the country,” Inzamam said. “So they need to play at the highest level at some stage and I have full faith in them. They will perform, and conditions in the West Indies, we all know are similar to the ones in subcontinent and the West Indies team isn’t like the one in the 70s, 80s or even from the 90s. But still if they face tough competition there, this will obviously help them to develop.”

For the T20Is, Pakistan have picked left-arm quicks for the T20s with Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Usman Khan, who had debuted in 2013, and Rumman Raees, who was part of the previous Pakistan squad that played West Indies in the UAE in 2016. Hasan Ali offers the option of variation.

Pakistan squads for the tour of West Indies:

T20Is: Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Rumman Raees, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan

ODIs: Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Asif Zakir, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Fahim Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Asghar.