No Shoaib Akhtar in list of 30 probables for ICC T20 World Cup
By ANISaturday, February 27, 2010
LAHORE - It seems to be all over for temperamental Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not included him in the list of 30 probables for ICC World T20 Championship scheduled to be held in West Indies in April.
Announcing the list of players short-listed for the coveted tournament, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said selectors did not consider Akhtar as he has not played in any international event since last May.
Akhtar, 34, had said that though he has not played much international cricket in the recent past, he will make a comeback soon.
The Rawalpindi Express would be seen in action leading the Islamabad Leopards in the upcoming domestic T20 tournament, the National Twenty20 Cup.
Injured fast bowler Sohail Tanvir has also been ruled out of the T20 World Championship.
“Tanvir will undergo knee surgery in Australia and the doctors are not sure when he will regain the fitness,” The Daily Times quoted Tanvir, as saying.
The left-arm speedster was part of the Pakistan squad, which won the T20 World Cup last year.
Butt also confirmed that the PCB has offered the job of national coach to former fast bowler Waqar Younis and is waiting for his reply.
“We would like to see him take charge, we have made him an offer and we are now waiting for a reply from him,” he said.
Butts statement clearly suggests that Intikhab Alam is likely to be removed from the post, though he still has eight months remaining in his two-year contract with the PCB.
30 probables for T20 World Cup:
Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Hafeez, Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hassan (openers), Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Naveed Yasin, Hasan Raza, Kamran Younis, Misbahul Haq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam (middle order batsmen), Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Hammad Azam, Rana Naveedul Hasan (all-rounders), Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Asif, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Sami (pace bowlers), Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hassan, Abdul Rehman (spinners), Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed and Zulqarnain Haider (wicketkeepers). (ANI)
