Afridi wanted Shoaib Malik, not Younis Khan

KARACHI - Pakistans cricket selectors ignored suggestions from the national teams captain Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis by recalling former captain Younis Khan for the one-day International series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates.

The captain and coach wanted all-rounder Shoaib Malik in the team as a replacement for injured Mohammad Yousuf, but the selectors instead picked up Younis Khan Wednesday.

Yousuf was ruled out of the limited-overs series against South Africa after he ruptured a muscle in his right leg.

A report in The News said Thursday that Afridi and Waqar had instead asked for the inclusion of discarded all-rounder Shoaib Malik in the squad for the two Twenty20 and five One-day Internationals against South Africa to be played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the national selectors did not agree with the suggestions coming from the captain and the coach, and opted to go for Younis Khans inclusion in the team, the report said.

Interestingly, Younis, who is a Test specialist, will now have to prove his form and fitness in one-day games to be considered for next months two-Test series against the Proteas.

According to Mohsin Khan, Pakistans chief selector, Younis Khan has only been selected for the one-day series (he has already retired from Twenty20 internationals) and might play in the Tests if he proves his form before the series.

The report said that Afridi and Waqar were of the view that Malik could have been useful for Pakistan in the Twenty20 and one-day games because of his utility as an all-rounder.

However, the PCB decided against recalling Malik in the national team and have given him the command of a team that will represent the country in Hong Kong Sixes tournament to be played next month.

–Indo-Asian News Serrvice