Younis Khan recalled to the ODI squad

Veteran batsman, Younis Khan, has been recalled to Pakistan’s ODI squad for Sri Lanka series after a span of nearly a year and a half. Mohammad Hafeez has been dropped from the Test team whereas young Umer Akmal has been indulged into the Test side in place of Mohammad Hafeez. Umer Akmal had played his last test in September 2011.

Hafeez has had a very lean patch in the longer format of the game and he was subsequently dropped from the Test side for the series against South Africa. But he was recalled to the Test side when he notched up three centuries in the five ODI’s against Sri Lanka. In the year 2013, he amassed 193 runs in the six tests with a mediocre average of 17.54.

Younis Khan, who is a regular pick for the Test team has made a comeback to the ODI side. Khan had already expressed the fact that he wants to retire on his own terms rather than being forced or eventually being dropped from the side. Younis last played One Day International against South Africa in 2013, and due to his poor run, he was dropped from the One Day side where he missed the cardinal Champions Trophy played in England.

Mohammad Irfan and Umar Gul have been left out both from the Test and One Day squads which directly relate to their fitness issues. Irfan is being saved for the upcoming World Cup 2015, and the PCB is now being very cautious in using him after he was mishandled by the team management which led to his injury and has been out of action for 7 months. Gul picked up an injury during the exhibition match played on the 200th anniversary of Lords and the selectors have asked him to rest rather than aggravating his injury.

Wahab Riaz has both been picked up for the Tests and ODI’s. He played his last ODI in November and was axed from the squad after a string of inconsistent performances.

The series kicks off from 6th August with the 1st Test to be played at Galle.

Squads:

Test squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Talha, Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Wahab Riaz.

ODI squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Talha, Wahab Riaz, Zulfiqar Babar.